Engineering electrochemical protein biosensors (ARC Discovery Project administered by QUT) (2018-2020)

We will use Synthetic Biology principles to develop a new class of artificial protein receptors that generate electric current upon encountering a molecular target. Using our expertise in in vitro protein synthesis we will integrate biosensor design and electrode prototyping to achieve rapid development of low cost broadly applicable sensory electrodes. To increase the sensitivity of the resulting sensing systems, the electrochemical receptors will be integrated with signal amplification cascades based on artificial autoinhibited proteases. The project will address an urgent need for new technologies that enable collection of biological information outside of the specialised laboratory environment.