AVS 51st International Symposium
    Biomaterial Interfaces Wednesday Sessions
       Session BI2-WeM

Paper BI2-WeM9
Biomolecular Immobilization in a Sugar Polyacrylate Hydrogel

Wednesday, November 17, 2004, 11:00 am, Room 213C

Session: Oligo Nucleotide - Surface Interactions
Presenter: M.S. Spector, Naval Research Laboratory
Authors: M.S. Spector, Naval Research Laboratory
P.T. Charles, Naval Research Laboratory
B.D. Martin, Naval Research Laboratory
C.M. Soto, Naval Research Laboratory
C.H. Patterson, Naval Research Laboratory
Correspondent: Click to Email
A novel sugar polyacrylate hydrogel has been developed as a substrate for high density microarrays. Copolymerization of chemo-enzymatically synthesized 6-acryloyl-@beta@-O-methyl-galactopyranoside with acrylate monomers containing terminal amine or carboxyl functionalities allows for covalent attachment of the oligonucleotides or proteins. The hydrogels show extremely low non-specific adsorption of biomolecules leading to increased signal-to-noise ratio and enhanced immunoassay sensitivity over two-dimensional surfaces. High density microarrays containing oligonucleotides and protein toxins have been obtained using a non-contact microdispensing system onto thin hydrogel films. The large pore size and solution-like environment of these hydrogels allow for easy penetration of large biomolecules and detection reagents. Confocal microscopy was used for three-dimensional visualization of the gel, immobilized biomolecules, and hybridized DNA. Results indicate that DNA diffuses into the hydrogel as discrete spots with higher concentration near the middle of the gel. Hybridization of 70-mer nucleotides was readily observed in these gels.