Phase-transition based transduction in a biosensor

Shifts in the main phase transition temperatures caused by a highly specific, protein-receptor interaction in a hybrid bilayer architecture are probed utilizing temperature programmed infrared vibrational spectroscopy. The specific case of cholera toxin attachment to glycolipid receptors embedded in a phospholipid outer layer at a hydrophobized silicon surface is investigated. Potential applications of the approach as a signal amplification method in biosensors will be discussed.