(567ae) Peptoids as Capture Molecules in “Antibody Microarrays”

Recent studies have shown microarrays to be indispensable for various biological applications, allowing for high-throughput processing as well as screening of biological samples such as RNA, DNA, proteins and peptides using a small sample volume. N-substituted glycine oligomers, or peptoids, have shown potential to be used as a substitute for antibodies as capture molecules as well as structural scaffolding in conventional antibody microarrays. Peptoid-based antibody mimics will be designed to have both structural and functional features similar to those of antibodies, including a structurally stable constant region (scaffolding) and a variable region for protein recognition. We have synthesized peptoids that are specific for Mdm-2 and GST, as well as a peptoid-based scaffold using an automated peptide synthesizer. The peptoid-based scaffold is designed to be helical by incorporating one-third aromatic side-chains, one-third positive side chains, and one-third PEG-like side chains. The final monomer on the scaffold is an azide group, which will allow for attachment to the variable peptoid through click chemistry with an alkyne group. Specificity and lower limit of detection will be assessed by ELISA microarray. We expect the system to detect the target molecules at concentrations in the pg/mL range.