Abstract: A device and a method enable the rapid, quantitative evaluation of a large collection of ligands for binding affinity with a certain immobilized receptor, the improvements being that binding pan be detected without the need for a label and that binding is carried out in solution phase at a high rate. The instrument has at least two embodiments, one is based on a sensitive absorption photometer and the other on a sensitive light scatter photometer operating at a specific resonance wavelength, &lgr;R, of small, metallic, colloidal particles. The resonance is present in small particles having a complex refractive index with real part n(&lgr;) approaching 0 and imaginary part k(&lgr;) approaching {square root}2 simultaneously at a specific wavelength &lgr;R. The particles are substantially spherical and substantially smaller than &lgr;R. The receptor is immobilized on a suspension of such particles and ligand binding is detected by a change in optical absorption or light scatter at the resonance wavelength.
Type:
Application
Filed:
June 28, 2002
Publication date:
December 26, 2002
Applicant:
Union Biometrica Technology Holdings, Inc.
Abstract: A device and a method enable the rapid, quantitative evaluation of a large collection of ligands for binding affinity with a certain immobilized receptor, the improvements being that binding pan be detected without the need for a label and that binding is carried out in solution phase at a high rate. The instrument has at least two embodiments, one is based on a sensitive absorption photometer and the other on a sensitive light scatter photometer operating at a specific resonance wavelength, &lgr;R, of small, metallic, colloidal particles. The resonance is present in small particles having a complex refractive index with real part n(&lgr;) approaching 0 and imaginary part k(&lgr;) approaching 2 simultaneously at a specific wavelength &lgr;R. The particles are substantially spherical and substantially smaller than &lgr;R. The receptor is immobilized on a suspension of such particles and ligand binding is detected by a change in optical absorption or light scatter at the resonance wavelength.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 11, 1999
Date of Patent:
July 2, 2002
Assignee:
Union Biometrica Technology Holdings, Inc.