Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for screening the activity of a polypeptide, and, equally, for producing a polypeptide with a desired activity by said screening, in an efficient and cost effective manner and with high sensitivity. The methods of the present invention comprise (i) expressing a polypeptide by cell-free in vitro translation and (ii) determining the activity of the expressed polypeptide by solution titration with an interaction member. The screening of a wild-type polypeptide and a mutant library derived there from can be used for identifying a activity of these polypeptides to an interaction member as a consequence of one or more point mutations. Furthermore, the present invention relates to methods for identifying polypeptides with therapeutically relevant properties as a consequence of the identified desired activity of a polypeptide from a mutant library.

Abstract: A magnetic storage device comprises an array of magnetic memory cells (50). Each cell (50) has, in electrical series connection, a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) (30) and a Zener diode (40). The MTJ (30) comprises, in sequence, a fixed ferromagnetic layer (FMF) (32), a non-magnetic spacer layer (33), a tunnel barrier layer (34), a further spacer layer (35), and a soft ferromagnetic layer (FMS) (36) that can change the orientation of its magnetic moment. The material type and thickness of each layer in the MTJ (30) is selected so that the cell (50) can be written by applying a voltage across the cell, which sets the orientation of the magnetic moments of the FMF (32) and FMS (36) relative to one another The switching is effected by means of an induced exchange interaction between the FMS and FMF mediated by the tunneling of spin-polarised electrons in the MTJ (30).

Abstract: An optical detection device is provided for analysing analytes in a liquid suspension or solution that can detect and process a large number of wavelengths of incident and fluorescent light simultaneously, which is small in size and can be easily adapted to different investigation requirements. In one embodiment an optical detection device comprises a light supplying means (45), an analyte handling means, (78), a light directing means (19), and detection means, integrated on planar substrate devices (40), (20), and (30), (30?), respectively. A plurality of optical waveguides are integrated in the substrate devices to direct light emitted by the light supplying means (45) through the different sections of the optical detection device to the detection means. The analyte handling means (78) comprises an analyte channel (70) for the liquid flow of the analyte suspension or solution and an analyte sorting means (72) comprising several sorting channels (72?).

Abstract: An oligomeric Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) complex comprising at least two chimeric proteins, said chimeric proteins comprising a first section derived from an MHC peptide chain or a functional part thereof and a second section comprising an oligomerising domain derived from an oligomer-forming coiled-coil protein, said complex further comprising attaching means for selectively attaching said MHC complex to a target cell, wherein formation of the oligomeric MHC complex occurs by oligomerisation at the oligomerising domain of the chimeric proteins, and wherein at least two of the first sections are derived from the same MHC peptide chain. In one embodiment, the complex further includes peptide bound to the MHC portions of the complex in the groove formed by the MHC ?1 and ?2 domains for class I complexes or the MHC ?1 and ?1 domains for class II complexes.

Abstract: An optical detection device is provided for analysing analytes in a liquid suspension or solution that can detect and process a large number of wavelengths of incident and fluorescent light simultaneously, which is small in size and can be easily adapted to different investigation requirements. In one embodiment an optical detection device comprises a light supplying means (45), an analyte handling means (78), a light directing means (19), and detection means, integrated on planar substrate devices (40), (20), and (30), (30?), respectively. A plurality of optical waveguides are integrated in the substrate devices to direct light emitted by the light supplying means (45) through the different sections of the optical detection device to the detection means. The analyte handling means (78) comprises an analyte channel (70) for the liquid flow of the analyte suspension or solution and an analyte sorting means (72) comprising several sorting channels (72?).