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Research Article

Optical visualization and quantification of enzyme activity using dynamic droplet lenses

Lauren D. Zarzar, Julia A. Kalow, Xinping He, Joseph J. Walish, and Timothy M. Swager
PNAS April 11, 2017 114 (15) 3821-3825; first published March 27, 2017; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1618807114
Lauren D. Zarzar
aDepartment of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
bInstitute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
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Julia A. Kalow
aDepartment of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
bInstitute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
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Xinping He
aDepartment of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
bInstitute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
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Joseph J. Walish
aDepartment of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
bInstitute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
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Timothy M. Swager
aDepartment of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139;
bInstitute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
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  • For correspondence: tswager@mit.edu
  1. Edited by David A. Weitz, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and approved March 7, 2017 (received for review November 14, 2016)

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Significance

A nonfluorescence-based technology is introduced that can lead to visual detection of enzyme activity. These results represent a dramatically different paradigm for creating sensors based on dynamic liquid lenses with general utility.

Abstract

In this paper, we describe an approach to measuring enzyme activity based on the reconfiguration of complex emulsions. Changes in the morphology of these complex emulsions, driven by enzyme-responsive surfactants, modulate the transmission of light through a sample. Through this method we demonstrate how simple photodetector measurements may be used to monitor enzyme kinetics. This approach is validated by quantitative measurements of enzyme activity for three different classes of enzymes (amylase, lipase, and sulfatase), relying on two distinct mechanisms for coupling droplet morphology to enzyme activity (host–guest interactions with uncaging and molecular cleavage).

  • emulsion
  • enzyme
  • assay
  • sensor
  • lenses

Footnotes

  • ↵1Present address: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802.

  • ↵2Present address: Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208.

  • ↵3Present address: Department of Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, People's Republic of China.

  • ↵4To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: tswager{at}mit.edu.
  • Author contributions: L.D.Z., J.A.K., and T.M.S. designed research; L.D.Z., J.A.K., X.H., and J.J.W. performed research; L.D.Z., J.A.K., and T.M.S. analyzed data; and L.D.Z., J.A.K., and T.M.S. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1618807114/-/DCSupplemental.

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Enzyme activity using dynamic droplet lenses
Lauren D. Zarzar, Julia A. Kalow, Xinping He, Joseph J. Walish, Timothy M. Swager
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Apr 2017, 114 (15) 3821-3825; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1618807114

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Enzyme activity using dynamic droplet lenses
Lauren D. Zarzar, Julia A. Kalow, Xinping He, Joseph J. Walish, Timothy M. Swager
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Apr 2017, 114 (15) 3821-3825; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1618807114
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