Development of homogeneous immunoassays based on protein fragment complementation

We demonstrate a functional in vitro proof-of-principle homogeneous assay capable of detecting small (<1 kDa) to large (150 kDa) analytes using TEM-1 β-lactamase protein fragment complementation. In the assays reported here, complementary components are added together in the presence of analyte and substrate resulting in colorimetric detection within 10-min. We demonstrate the use of functional mutations leading to either increased enzymatic activity, reduced fragment self-association or increased inhibitor resistance upon analyte driven fragment complementation. Kinetic characterization of the resulting reconstituted enzyme illustrates the importance of balancing increased enzyme activity with fragment self-association, producing diagnostically relevant signal-to-noise ratios. Complementation can be utilized as a homogeneous immunoassay platform for the potential detection of a range of analytes including, antibodies, antigens and biomarkers.