Abstract: The present invention relates to a sputter deposition system that comprises a rotatable substrate holder for holding one or more substrates and configured to allow rotation of the one or more substrates around their own axis and around the rotation axis of the rotatable substrate holder. The present invention provides for the coating of one or more substrates at the top end of the said one or more substrates and provides a homogeneous deposition of the substrate or substrates. Further, hereby disclosed is a method for depositing a coating on one or more substrates by means of the sputter deposition system described herein.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical fiber connector to position and align an optical fiber into an analytical device, in particular into a bioanalytical device. Also a method for positioning and aligning an optical fiber in such a device is disclosed.

Abstract: NAzyme activity surface plasmon resonance sensors include a first DNA probe that is covalently connected to a sensing surface, and a second DNA probe that is covalently connected to a nanoparticle or a nanoparticle cluster. The first DNA probe and the second DNA probe are ligated together to provide a selected single strand DNA probe connected to the sensing surface and the nanoparticle. The single strand DNA probe includes a ligation zone within a selected NAzyme substrate. The sensor measures DNAzyme activity by NAzyme binding at the NAzyme substrate and cleavage at the ligation zone. Fiber optic surface plasmon resonance sensor tips are adapted to measure activity of a NAzyme when the NAzyme substrate is recognized by the selected NAzyme through hybridization and the metallic nanoparticle is released from the sensor by cleavage of the single strand DNA at the ligation zone by the selected NAzyme.

Abstract: A method and kits are provided for nucleic acid quantification and discrimination using surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The method provided is able to significantly enhance the detection limit and multiplex the discrimination assay using the melting properties of the target DNA on top of standard PCR reaction. By using the heating and cooling cycles of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or Ligation chain reaction (LCR), DNA is melted and hybridized onto the SPR sensor surface together with a nanoparticle label. Thus, during every cycle of DNA amplification, the quantity and type of target DNA can be monitored.