Metal-enhanced fluorescence for polarization-based affinity assays

1. A method for determining the quantity of an analyte comprising:

a) providing a functionalized substrate that comprises metallic nanoparticles and a plurality of substantively identical bioactive target molecules affixed to a substrate, wherein the bioactive target molecule binds to a particular analyte;

b) providing a reagent comprising a plurality of substantively identical detection molecules, wherein the detection molecule comprises a fluorophore, and the detection molecule binds to the particular analyte or competes with the particular analyte for binding to the target molecule;

c) contacting the functionalized substrate to a test sample and the reagent;

d) exposing the functionalized substrate and a covering solution resulting from step c) to polarized electromagnetic waves that excite the fluorophore; and

e) determining a quantity of the particular analyte in the test sample based on measuring polarization anisotropy of fluorescent emissions directly from the substrate and the covering solution,

wherein the detection molecule is selected so that polarization anisotropy decreases with an increase in a ratio of a number of detection molecules bound directly or indirectly to the functionalized substrate divided by a number of free detection molecules in the covering solution.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the metallic nanoparticles have diameters small compared to a wavelength of fluorescent emissions from the fluorophore.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the metallic nanoparticles are composed of a metal selected from a group comprising gold and silver and aluminum.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein, during step c, a detection molecule is bound directly or indirectly to the target molecule affixed to the substrate so as to bring the fluorophore included in the detection molecule within about 50 nanometers of a metallic nanoparticle affixed to the substrate.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein, determining the quantity of the particular analyte in the test sample during step c further comprises comparing the measured polarization anisotropy of fluorescent emissions to a calibration curve that associates a degree of anisotropy with the ratio.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein:

the detection molecule competes with the particular analyte for binding to the target molecule; and

step c) further comprises contacting the functionalized substrate to a mixture of the test sample and the reagent under conditions that allow steady state binding of the particular analyte in the mixture to the target molecules,

whereby the method is termed a competitive binding assay.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein:

the detection molecule binds to the particular analyte; and

step c) further comprises

contacting the functionalized substrate with the test sample under conditions that cause an amount of the particular analyte which binds to the target molecules to be proportional to an amount of the particular analyte in the sample,

washing the functionalized substrate that has analyte bound to target molecules, and

contacting the functionalized substrate that has analyte bound to target molecules with the reagent under conditions that allow steady state binding of the detection molecules in the reagent to the particular analyte that is bound to the target molecules affixed to the substrate,

whereby the method is termed a sandwich binding assay.

8. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the target molecule is selected from a group comprising a polymer, a ligand, an antigen, an antibody and a strand of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

9. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the particular analyte is selected from a group comprising a polymer, a ligand, an antigen, an antibody and a strand of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

10. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the detection molecule comprises a biomolecule selected from a group comprising a polymer, a ligand, an antigen, an antibody, a protein, an oligomer and a strand of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

11. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the fluorophore is selected from a group comprising a fluoresceins, eosin, coumarines, rhodamines, cyanines, benzophenoxazines, phycobiliproteins and fluorescent proteins.

12. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the detection molecule comprises an intrinsically fluorescent biomolecule.

13. The method as recited in claim 12 , wherein the intrinsically fluorescent biomolecule is selected from a group comprising aromatic acids, tyrosine, tryptophan, flavins and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydrogenated (NADH).

14. A competitive binding assay for determining the quantity of an analyte comprising:

a) providing a functionalized substrate that comprises metallic nanoparticles and a plurality of substantively identical bioactive target molecules affixed to a substrate, wherein the bioactive target molecule binds to a particular analyte;

b) providing a reagent comprising a plurality of substantively identical detection molecules, wherein

the detection molecule comprises a fluorophore, and

the detection molecule competes with the particular analyte for binding to the target molecule;

c) contacting the functionalized substrate to a mixture of a test sample and the reagent under conditions that allow steady state binding of the particular analyte in the mixture to the target molecules;

d) exposing the functionalized substrate and covering solution resulting from step c) to polarized electromagnetic waves having a wavelength that excites the fluorophore; and

e) determining a concentration of the particular analyte in the test sample based on measuring polarization anisotropy of fluorescent emissions directly from the substrate and the covering solution,

wherein the detection molecule is selected so that polarization anisotropy decreases with an increase in a ratio of a number of detection molecules bound directly or indirectly to the functionalized substrate divided by a number of free detection molecules in the covering solution.

15. A sandwich binding assay for determining the quantity of an analyte comprising:

a) providing a functionalized substrate that comprises metallic nanoparticles and a plurality of substantively identical bioactive target molecules affixed to a substrate, wherein the bioactive target molecule binds to a particular analyte;

b) providing a reagent comprising a plurality of substantively identical detection molecules, wherein

the detection molecule comprises a fluorophore, and

the detection molecule binds to the particular analyte;

c) contacting the functionalized substrate with a test sample under conditions that cause an amount of the particular analyte which binds to the target molecules to be proportional to an amount of the particular analyte in the sample;

d) washing the functionalized substrate that has analyte bound to target molecules;

e) contacting the functionalized substrate that has analyte bound to target molecules with the reagent under conditions that allow steady state binding of the detection molecules in the reagent to the particular analyte that is bound to the target molecules affixed to the substrate;

f) exposing the functionalized substrate and covering solution resulting from step e) to polarized electromagnetic waves that excite the fluorophore; and

g) determining a quantity of the particular analyte in the test sample based on measuring polarization anisotropy of fluorescent emissions directly from the substrate and the covering solution,

wherein the detection molecule is selected so that polarization anisotropy decreases with an increase in a ratio of a number of detection molecules bound directly or indirectly to the functionalized substrate divided by a number of free detection molecules in the covering solution.