Velanidi Technologies LLC

Jane Ni

David N Shykind

Devin Thomas Wiley

A method of using a device to detect a target entity in an environment includes introducing the device into the environment. The device includes first and second conductive surfaces, with a first molecular wire electrically coupling the first conductive surface to a capture agent that can interact with the target entity, and a second molecular wire electrically coupling the second conductive surface to a reference compound. The first and the second molecular wires comprise oligonucleotide multiplexes having identical nucleobase sequences and opposite absolute configuration. The method also includes detecting, by the device, an interaction between the capture agent and the target entity, at least in part by amplifying a differential voltage between the first and second conductive surfaces and detecting the interaction based on the differential voltage.

Molecular wires for detecting a biological or chemical entity or event

A method of fabricating a device includes fabricating conductive surfaces including one or more capture surfaces and one or more reference surfaces, attaching a first molecular wire to each capture surface, and attaching a second molecular wire to each reference surface. The first and second molecular wires include chiral oligonucleotide multiplexes having identical nucleobase sequences and opposite absolute configuration. The first molecular wire includes a first oligonucleotide strand conjugated to a first functional handle including a sulfur-containing compound, and a second oligonucleotide strand conjugated to a capture agent that interacts with a target entity. The second molecular wire includes a first oligonucleotide strand conjugated to a second functional handle including a sulfur-containing compound, and a second oligonucleotide strand conjugated to a reference compound. The first and second oligonucleotide strands of each molecular wire are complementary and have the same absolute configuration.

Enantiomeric pairs of molecular wires comprised of oligomeric nucleic acids, wherein the oligomers of each wire possess identical nucleobase pair sequences and thus identical conductivity as between wires, are constructed and used to sense biological or chemical entities of interest at the cellular or molecular level. The oligomeric molecular wires conduct voltage inputs to sensing subsystem integrated circuitry, either from an electrostatic potential arising from a targeting agent (i.e., a capture agent) binding to an intended biological or chemical target molecule, or from an electrostatic potential associated with a reference molecule that has non-specific interactions with the environment. The chirality of the oligomers imparts selectivity to either the targeting agent or the reference molecule during assembly of the sensing subsystem.

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Portland, OR, United States of America

Jane Ni