Effect of Path Persistence Length of Molecular Shuttles on Two-stage Analyte Capture in Biosensors

Two-stage analyte capture in biosensors utilizing molecular shuttles, nanoscale transporters powered by motor proteins, has been studied with a previously developed computer simulation to explicitly account for the multiscale nature of shuttle trajectories. The simulation results for three distinct sensor layouts showed that (1) without use of guiding structures, the benefit of the active transport was limited; and (2) microfabricated guiding structures leading the molecular shuttles toward detector substantially shorten the time required to deliver the analyte to the detector. This study showed that two-stage capture with molecular shuttles on microfabricated guiding structures is an efficient strategy to overcome mass transport limitations in biosensors.