Modular protein binders for multiplexed detection of microbes and endotoxins

Overview

This solution offers a modular biosensor platform built on engineered bacteriophage tailspike proteins for the sensitive detection and removal of microbes and endotoxins. By fusing these proteins with optically active outputs such as GFP, Renilla luciferase, and cjBlue, the platform enables multiplexed detection across diverse pathogen targets. The technology addresses persistent challenges in water safety, food production, agriculture, and clinical diagnostics by replacing conventional chemical approaches with biologically engineered alternatives that perform reliably in complex real-world environments.

The platform is grounded in demonstrated capabilities of tailspike proteins to bind and degrade surface polysaccharides, including lipopolysaccharides (LPS), on both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial pathogens. Beyond bacteria, the underlying protein engineering approach has been extended to fungal cell wall components and algal cell wall degradation, highlighting the versatility of the platform across microbial targets.

Technical specifications

Core technology:

• Engineered bacteriophage tailspike proteins reengineered to bind and degrade surface polysaccharides on bacterial, fungal, and algal targets
• Modular protein fusions with optically active reporters including GFP (fluorescence), Renilla luciferase (luminescence), and cjBlue (colorimetric)
• Directed evolution pipelines to tune LPS specificity and generate fusion libraries responsive to specific exopolysaccharides, cells, or mixtures

Key capabilities:

• Binding and degradation of LPS and biofilm components across gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens
• Activity against fungal cell wall components, with enzymes registered for biofungicide applications in agriculture and food safety
• Dispersal of harmful algal blooms (HABs) through enzymatic degradation of algal cell walls in field samples
• Gain-of-signal detection: optical output triggered only upon ligand binding

Detection features:

• Multiplexed output formats (fluorescence, luminescence, colorimetric) for flexible deployment
• Smartphone camera compatibility for portable, field-ready biological imaging and detection
• Sensitivity evaluation as a function of ligand concentration and fluid volume

Technology readiness level

The underlying tailspike protein platform has been validated in published research demonstrating binding and degradation of surface polysaccharides across multiple pathogen classes. Prior work has established that LPS binding can occur independently of degradation and that specificity can be tuned through directed evolution. Fungal cell wall activity has progressed to intellectual property filing and an early-stage startup commercializing biofungicide enzymes, and algal cell wall degradation has been demonstrated in field samples for harmful algal bloom dispersal. The current stage of development focuses on generating and validating optically active protein fusions, screening fusion libraries for gain-of-signal behavior, and benchmarking detection sensitivity across output formats, including smartphone-based detection limits. The platform is advancing from laboratory-validated components toward integrated biosensor prototypes suitable for real-world deployment.