Binding constant of the cell-shaped cavity formed on a polymer for Escherichia coli O157

Abstract

The binding constant of receptors for small molecules, proteins, or antibodies is usually determined based on the concentrations of the ligand, receptor, and their complexes. The binding constant is used as a measure of the affinity between the ligand and the receptor. In the present study, we introduce a procedure to determine the binding constant of a cell-shaped cavity formed on a polymer by molecular imprinting for a whole cell. To determine the binding constant, we clarified the numbers of cavities and cells, based on the fluorescence of a single cell, and defined their concentrations. We successfully determined the binding constant of the complementary cavity for a whole cell (1.1 × 10 5 M -1 ). This is the first report to describe the binding constant of a complementary cavity for a whole cell.