Two supramolecular methods for detecting a cancer metabolite with cucurbituril
Date
2016-05-03
Authors
Li, Wei
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Abstract
The enzyme spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) is a candidate biomarker for various cancers as its activity in cancerous tissues is significantly increased. An artificial molecule, amantadine, is exclusively acetylated by SSAT to acetylamantadine (AcAm), levels of which in urine can serve as a proxy biomarker for malignancy. Current method of AcAm detection is laborious, time-consuming, and lacks the possibility of transforming to a point-of-care device. In this thesis, two different approaches were applied to detect AcAm in deionized water and in human urine using optical methods. The first one was fluorescence-based indicator displacement assay using cucurbit[7]uril as the receptor molecule. The second was programmed gold nanoparticle disaggregation with cucurbit[7]uril as a molecular linker.
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Keywords
cucurbituril, indicator displacement assay, cancer, biomarker, gold nanoparticle, acetyl amantadine, disaggregation, SSAT