Chemistry: analytical and immunological testing – Involving an insoluble carrier for immobilizing immunochemicals – Carrier is inorganic
Patent
1986-05-13
1989-11-21
Kepplinger, Esther M.
Chemistry: analytical and immunological testing
Involving an insoluble carrier for immobilizing immunochemicals
Carrier is inorganic
436527, 436531, 436518, 436548, 436805, 436810, 356305, 356317, 356318, 2504611, 2504612, G01N 33553, G01N 33552, G01N 33545, G01N 33577
Patent
active
048822884
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to an assay technique for qualitative and/or quantitative detection of chemical, biochemical or biological species in a sample and to apparatus and equipment for use in such a technique
The technique is based, upon the affinity of the species which is to be assayed for a receptive material, for example a ligand or a specific binding partner, which receptive material is coated onto a particular type of surface.
Our International Pat. Publication No. WO84/02578 describes and claims an assay technique for qualitative and/or quantitative detection of a chemical, biochemical or biological species in a sample, which comprises (a) coating at least a predetermined part of a surface having a pre-formed relief profile on a substrate with a thin film of a material capable of binding the species to be assayed, said surface part being optically active with respect to radiation at least over a predetermined band of wavelengths; (b) contacting the coated surface with the sample; and (c) observing the optical properties of said surface part in order to determine a qualitative and/or quantitative change in optical properties as a result of the binding of the species onto said thin film of material The same publication also describes and claims an article for use in such an assay technique, the article comprising a substrate having a surface with a pre-formed relief profile which is optically active with respect to radiation at least over a predetermined band of wavelengths, and at least a predetermined part of which surface is coated with a thin film of a material capable of binding a predetermined chemical or biochemical or biological species. The substrate is most preferably a lamellar plastics material and may conveniently be in strip-form The pre-formed surface relief profile may take a variety of forms, but broadly speaking the profile may be referred to as a grating It may consist of a single grating or of two or more crossed gratings The grating profile may be square-wave, sinusoidal or saw-tooth, for example; it may also be derived from the arrangement of a series of protuberances formed on the surface.
It will be convenient hereinafter to use the term "grating" to refer to a surface with a pre-formed relief profile of the type disclosed in our International Pat. Publication WO84/02578. It will be appreciated that the surface which constitutes the grating may be of the same material as the substrate itself, or it may be of a different material (in which case the substrate will carry said different material)
Our International Pat. Publication No WO84/02578 discloses an invention of which a key characteristic is the use of a grating in an assay technique It effectively marries the optical effects which may be achieved using gratings with the chemical or biochemical techniques used in molecular assays in order to improve such assays The disclosure of International Pat. Publication No. WO84/02578 is incorporated herein by reference thereto Our present understanding of the mechanistic aspects of this earlier invention is that the change in optical properties of the article as a result of the binding of a species to be assayed (e.g. a specific antigen in blood serum) is brought about essentially as a result of (i) the mass or bulk of bound molecules and (ii) their dielectric properties. Sensitivity however will depend on the size of the antigen molecule concerned: more small molecules will need to be bound than large molecules in order to produce the same change in optical properties (assuming the dielectric properties of the different molecules are unchanged). Although the technique of this earlier invention constitutes a considerable advance in the art, nevertheless this dependence on molecular size and dielectric properties does limit the application of the technique. The present invention aims to overcome or ameliorate this limitation of the earlier invention.
Because surface phenomena greatly affect both the physical and the chemical aspects of a measuring technique involving the use of active
REFERENCES:
patent: 4537861 (1985-08-01), Elings et al.
patent: 4647544 (1987-03-01), Nicoli et al.
North John R.
Petty-Saphon Satham
Sawyers Craig G.
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