Tethered lipoplex nanoparticle biochips and methods of use

1. A method for detecting the presence or absence of a selected disease or condition in a subject from a sample of tissue or body fluid of the subject, comprising the steps of:

providing a lipoplex nanoparticle, comprising a liposome having at least one molecular probe incorporated therein and at least one modification of the surface of the liposome to facilitate the surface for binding to a target feature that is characteristic of the presence or absence of the selected disease or condition, the lipoplex nanoparticle being tethered to a substrate;

contacting the lipoplex nanoparticle with an amount of the sample from the subject; and

detecting excitation of a label of the at least one molecular probe, the excitation occurring from the capture and incorporation into the lipoplex nanoparticle of the target feature;

wherein the target feature is selected from the group consisting of: a cell-secreted extracellular vesicle and a virus.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the lipoplex nanoparticle is an immunolipoplex nanoparticle and the at least one surface modification is selected from the group consisting of: an antibody, a peptide, a carbohydrate, and combinations thereof.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the at least one surface modification is an antibody on the surface of the liposome that is specific for a determinant on the target feature.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the lipoplex nanoparticle is a cationic lipoplex nanoparticle and the at least one surface modification comprises a positive charge on the surface of the liposome for binding negatively charged moieties in the sample from the subject.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the at least one molecular probe comprises a molecular beacon.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein:

the molecular beacon comprises a fluorescence marker or a radiomarker.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the step of detecting excitation is achieved by an instrument selected from the group consisting of: a total internal reflective fluorescence microscope, a fluorescence microscope, a plate reader and a portable fluorescence detector.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

at least some of the tethered lipoplex nanoparticles are further modified on the surface of the liposome with a positive charge for binding negatively charged particles in the sample from the subject.

9. The method of claim 4 , wherein:

at least some of the tethered cationic nanoparticles are further modified on the surface of the liposome with at least one surface modification selected from the group consisting of: an antibody, a peptide, a carbohydrate, and combinations thereof.

10. A method for detecting the presence or absence of a selected disease or condition in a subject from a sample of tissue or body fluid of the subject, comprising the steps of:

providing a biochip comprising a substrate on which at least one array of lipoplex nanoparticles are tethered; each array comprising a plurality of the lipoplex nanoparticles that comprise a liposome having at least one molecular probe incorporated therein and at least one modification of the surface of the liposome to facilitate the surface for binding to a target feature that is characteristic of the presence or absence of the selected disease or condition;

contacting the biochip with an amount of the sample from the subject; and

detecting excitation of the molecular probe of at least one of the arrays, the excitation occurring from the capture and incorporation into the lipoplex nanoparticle of the target feature;

wherein the target feature is selected from the group consisting of: a cell-secreted extracellular vesicle and a virus.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein:

the biochip comprises at least two arrays that differ from each other in that a first of the arrays comprises lipoplex nanoparticles with a first modification of the liposome surface and at least one further array comprises lipoplex nanoparticles with a second modification of the liposome surface that is different from the first modification.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein:

the at least two arrays further differ in that the first of the arrays comprises lipoplex nanoparticles with a first molecular probe and the at least one further array comprises lipoplex nanoparticles with a second molecular probe that is different from the first labeling moiety, such that the excitations of the respective molecular probes are distinct.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein:

each of the at least two arrays further differ from each other in size or shape so as to be visually distinct.