Biosensor device and methods
A sensor device comprising an insect odorant receptor complex, comprising an OrX and an Orco, in electrical communication with a substrate, wherein the sensor device is configured to detect a change in an electrical characteristic of the substrate; a sensor device component comprising an insect odorant receptor complex, comprising an OrX and an Orco, in electrical communication with a substrate; methods for manufacture and use of the sensor device and sensor device component; and methods of use of the sensor to detect an analyte.
1 . A sensor device comprising an insect odorant receptor complex, comprising an OrX and an Orco, in electrical communication with a substrate, wherein each of the OrX and the Orco comprise seven transmembrane helices, wherein, when present in a cell membrane, each of the OrX and the Orco have a transmembrane topology having an intracellular N-terminus and an extracellular C-terminus, wherein the insect odorant receptor complex is embedded in a membrane mimic which is coupled to the substrate directly or via a linker molecule, wherein the membrane mimic is selected from a liposome, an amphipol, a detergent micelle, a nanovesicle, a nanodisc, or a surfactant, wherein the sensor device is configured to detect binding of an analyte to the OrX by detecting a change in an electrical characteristic of the substrate, wherein the substrate is selected from: a working electrode of an electrochemical cell, a channel of a carbon nanotube-field effect transistor (CNT-FET), a channel of a graphene-field effect transistor (GFET), a resonator component of a quartz crystal microbalance, or an inert metal surface on a glass prism.
2 . The sensor device of claim 1 , wherein the insect odorant receptor complex is present in a form that is capable of undergoing a conformational change in response binding of the analyte.
3 . The sensor device of claim 1 , wherein the membrane mimic is the liposome.
4 . The sensor device of claim 1 , wherein the membrane mimic comprises amphipathic molecules.
5 . The sensor device of claim 1 , wherein the sensor device is able to detect the presence of the analyte at a concentration of less than 1×10 −3 M.
6 . The sensor device of claim 5 , wherein the sensor device is able to detect the presence of the analyte at a concentration of less than 1×10 −12 M.
7 . The sensor device of claim 1 , wherein the electrical characteristic is selected from at least one of: conductivity, resistance, complex resistance, impedance, electrochemical impedance, electrochemical potential, flow of current, and resonance frequency of oscillations induced by an alternating electric field.
8 . A method of detecting an analyte, the method comprising the steps of:
a) binding the analyte to the insect OrX in the sensor device of claim 1 , and
b) detecting the change in the electrical characteristic of the substrate, wherein the change in the electrical characteristic of the substrate indicates detection of the analyte.
9 . A method of detecting the presence of an analyte in an environment, the method comprising the steps of:
a) exposing the sensor device of claim 1 to the environment containing the analyte,
b) binding the analyte to the insect OrX in the sensor device, and
c) detecting the change in the electrical characteristic of the substrate, wherein the change in the electrical characteristic of the substrate indicates the presence of the analyte in the environment.
10 . A method of manufacturing the sensor device of claim 1 , the method including the step of establishing the electrical communication between the insect odorant receptor complex, comprising the OrX and the Orco, and the substrate of the sensor device, wherein the sensor device is configured to detect the change in the electrical characteristic of the substrate.
11 . A sensor device comprising an insect odorant receptor complex, comprising an OrX and an Orco, in electrical communication with a substrate, wherein each of the OrX and the Orco comprise seven transmembrane helices, wherein, when present in a cell membrane, each of the OrX and the Orco have a transmembrane topology having an intracellular N-terminus and an extracellular C-terminus, wherein the insect odorant receptor complex is embedded in a membrane mimic which is coupled to the substrate directly or via a linker molecule, wherein the membrane mimic is selected from a liposome, an amphipol, a nanovesicle, or a nanodisc, wherein, when the membrane mimic is the liposome, the liposome is not fused with a planar lipid bilayer membrane; wherein the sensor device is configured to detect binding of an analyte to the OrX by detecting a change in an electrical characteristic of the substrate, wherein the substrate is selected from: a working electrode of an electrochemical cell, a channel of a carbon nanotube-field effect transistor (CNT-FET), a channel of a graphene-field effect transistor (GFET), a resonator component of a quartz crystal microbalance, or an inert metal surface on a glass prism.