(118h) Corona Phase Molecular Recognition of the Interleukin-6 (IL-6) Family of Cytokines Using Nir Fluorescent Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes

The Interleukin-6 (IL-6) family of cytokines regulate inflammation and play important roles in numerous biochemical pathways. Understanding the fundamental molecular recognition of these molecules with synthetic substrates is key to new biomedical technologies, including assays, sensors, therapeutics and purification methods. Herein, we use the Corona Phase Molecular Recognition (CoPhMoRe) approach to engineer new carbon nanotubes constructs and study their subsequent binding to the inflammatory cytokines: IL6, interleukin-11 (IL-11), ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF). Library screening identified two polymer–based CoPhMoRe constructs consisting of single-walled carbon nanotubes complexed with p(AA₆₈-rand-BA₁₆-rand-CD₁₆) polymer (MK2) or p(SS₈₀-rand-BS₂₀) polymer (P14) corona phases. The resulting dissociation constants (K_D) were 8.38 ng/mL and 16.7 μg/mL respectively, compared to that of the natural IL-6 receptor at ~0.32ng/mL. Comparative binding experiments suggests that both constructs appear to recognize the axially aligned alpha-helical structures present in the Interleukin-6 family. The findings from this study elucidate how nanoparticle interfaces can be designed to lock onto specific protein features, particularly alpha-helical structures, to enable molecular recognition and new types of sensing technologies.