IMMUNODIAGNOSTIC BIOSENSOR DEVICE BASED ON CONDUCTIVE ORGANIC POLYMERS

IN THE PAST FEW YEARS THERE HAS BEEN A GREAT DEAL OF INTEREST IN CONDUCTING ORGANIC POLYMERS, SUCH AS POLYACETYLENE AND ITS DERIVATIVES. THESE NEW MATERIALS HAVE AROUSED MUCH EXCITMENT BECAUSE OF POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS IN BATTERIES, AS LIGHT-WEIGHT ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS, AND IN PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES. MKM RESEARCH/OHMICRON IS THE FIRST ORGANIZATION TO ESTABLISH RESEARCH PRIORITY (BASED ON U.S. PATENT # 4,334,880) EMPLOYING THESE NOVEL MATERIALS AS BIOSENSORS. THE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF POLYACETYLENE CAN BE VARIED OVER TWELVE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE BY CHEMICAL OR ELECTROCHEMICAL DOPING WITH A VERY SMALL AMOUNT (0-3%) OF DOPANT, SUCH AS IODINE. HEREIN LIES THE BASIS FOR AN EXTREMELY SENSITIVE BIOLOGICAL SENSOR. THE RESPONSE OF SUCH A DEVICE COULD BE VARIED OVER TWELVE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE WITH A FEW PERCENT CHANGE IN DOPANT CONCENTRATION, AND BY COUPLING BIOCHEMICAL REACTIONS TO CHANGES IN DOPANT CONCENTRATION, A WIDE VARIETY OF BIOSENSORS CAN BE CONSTRUCTED. WE PROPOSE TO COUPLE AN ENZYME TO DOPED POLYACETYLENE, WHICH WOULD SENSE THE ENZYMATIC SUBSTRATE. A PRODUCT OF THE ENZYMATIC REACTION WOULD REACT WITH THE DOPANT, CHANGING ITS CONCENTRATION, THERE BY CHANGING THE CONDUCTIVITY OF THE POLYACETYLENE. A SIMILAR APPROACH IS USED WITH IMMUNOLOGICAL REACTIONS WHERE, BY EXTENDING THE RESULTS OF THIS PROPOSED RESEARCH, AN ENZYME LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY (ELISA) CAN BE CONDUCTED IN LIKE FASHION. THIS PROPOSAL DESCRIBES A COMPLETELY NEW TYPE OF BIOSENSOR, WITH A POTENTIAL OF OPENING UP A NEW AREA OF BIODIAGNOSTIC SENSORS.