Absorbance-based assay for membrane disruption by antimicrobial peptides and synthetic copolymers using pyrroloquinoline quinone-loaded liposomes.

A simple homogeneous assay for the detection of membrane permeabilization by antimicrobial peptides and synthetic copolymers is described. Liposomes encapsulating pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), the prosthetic group of the apoenzyme glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), are used to detect membrane permeabilization by the antimicrobial peptides MSI-594 and MSI-78 as well as various synthetic antimicrobial copolymers in an optical microwell assay. PQQ-loaded liposomes and the peptide or copolymer are added to wells of a 96-well microtiter plate.

Visual detection of single-stranded target DNA using pyrroloquinoline-quinone-loaded liposomes as a tracer.

The preparation of DNA-tagged liposomes containing an encapsulated prosthetic group tracer, pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), and their application to the development of a sandwich-type hybridization assay for the visual detection of single-stranded DNA are described. Capture DNA is conjugated to the surface of microtiter plate wells through a biotin-streptavidin interaction. Target DNA is incubated with the plate in high salt concentrations.