EP0178083A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Assay technique and equipment
Assignee: Applied Research Systems ARS Holding NV
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Filing: 1985-09-16
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2005-09-16
Abstract
Abstract Anarticleandatechniquefortheassayofbiochemical,biological or chemical species is disclosed. In essence, the article is a substrate (10) carrying a surface relief profile (12) such as a regular sinusoidal grating. There is usually a metal layer (13) e.g. of silver or aluminium conforming to the relief profile. An inorganic oxide layer (14) may coat the metal layer (13). A further layer of a dye-tagged material (17) which is capable of binding the species undergoing assay is bonded to the structure. In use, the grating interacts with the fluorochrome by increasing absorption sensitivity and by regulating fluorescent emission into a narrow cone of angles instead of there being uniform emission in all directions. The presence of bound molecules e.g. antibodies (18) on a layer of dye-tagged antigen (17) affects the fluorescent behaviour of the system, which can be arranged to act as fluorescent activating on binding, or fluorescent inhibiting on binding of assayed species. The fluorescent intensity or the lifetime of the fluorescent state may be measured before and after binding in order to monitor or measure the species undergoing assay. In the preferred case, fluorescent is either quenched before binding of said species and activated after binding thereof, or vice versa. Also, the analyte may be dye-tagged (by conventional techniques) rather than the layer of binding material (17). The technique is well-suited to liquid phase fluorescent immuno-assay.
Inventors
- 👤 John Robert North
- 👤 Satham Petty-Saphon
- 👤 Craig George Sawyers
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 23:13
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01N; G01N21/00; G01N21/62; G01N21/63; G01N21/64; G01N21/645; G01N21/648; G01N21/17; G01N21/47; G01N21/4788; G01N21/6428; G01N33/00; G01N33/48; G01N33/50; G01N33/53; G01N33/543; G01N33/54366; G01N33/54373; G01N33/544; G01N33/545; G01N33/551; G01N33/553; G01N2021/6432; G01N21/6408; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S436/00; Y10S436/805; Y10S436/807; Y10S436/81
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 25
Claim 1
Independent Claim
103 words
An article for use in an assay technique for qualitative and/or quantitative detection of a chemical, biochemical or biological species in a sample, which article comprises 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, said thin film of material incorporating molecules of a fluorescent compound whose fluorescent properties show an observable dependence upon its molecular environment.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
103 words
An article for use in an assay technique for qualitative and/or quantitative detection of a chemical, biochemical or biological species in a sample, which article comprises 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, said thin film of material incorporating molecules of a fluorescent compound whose fluorescent properties show an observable dependence upon its molecular environment.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
14 words
An article as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate is a plastics material.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
20 words
An article as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plastics material is a material which is curable by ultra-violet light.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
20 words
An article as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein said plastics material is an acrylic or a polyester material.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
13 words
An article as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plastics material is polymethylmethacrylate.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
An article as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate is a glass coated with a synthetic polymeric material.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
17 words
An article as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the substrate is lamellar.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
13 words
An article as claimed in claim 7, wherein the substrate is in strip-form.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
35 words
An article as claimed in claim 6, 7 or 9, wherein the pre-formed surface relief profile is in the form of a single grating or of two or more gratings disposed mutually at an angle.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
An article as claimed in claim 9, wherein the or each grating is of square-wave, sinusoidal or saw-tooth profile.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
ll. An article as claimed in claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein the pre-formed surface relief profile comprises a regular array of protuberances.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
24 words
An article as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein said surface is constituted by a metal or a metal layer.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
14 words
An article as claimed in claim 12, wherein the metal is silver or aluminium.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
14 words
An article as claimed in claim 12, wherein the metal is copper or gold.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
An article as claimed in claim 13 or 14, wherein the metal is coated with a layer of an oxide of silicon or aluminium.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
24 words
An article as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said thin film of material comprises specific antigens or antibodies, tagged with a fluorescent compound.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
13 words
An article as claimed in claim 16, wherein said antibodies are monoclonal antibodies.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
30 words
An article as claimed in claim 16 or 17, wherein said fluorescent compound is a dye of the coumarin, rhodamine or fluorescein types or is the ion +++ Eu .
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
46 words
An article as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the molecular environment of said fluorescent compound is such that fluorescence is activated before said species is bound to the article and quenched or partially quenched after said species is bound to the article, or vice versa.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
64 words
An assay technique in which an article as claimed in claim 1, is subjected to a fluid containing the species to be assayed, said thin film of material carried by the article being selected in accordance with the species to be assayed, wherein a comparison is made between the fluorescent properties of said dye molecule after and before binding of the species undergoing assay.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
55 words
A method as claimed in claim 20, in which incident radiation is directed at the surface of said article at a predetermined angle of incidence and at a wavelength which is (a) such as to excite the dye molecule into the fluorescent state, and (b) such as to be resonant with the grating surface structure.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
42 words
A method as claimed in claim 21, wherein observation of the fluorescent emission from the dye molecules is carried out at a predetermined angle of emission which is that at which maximum fluorescence occurs in the absence of the species undergoing assay.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
42 words
A method as claimed in claim 21, wherein observation of the fluorescent emission from the dye molecules is carried out at a predetermined angle of emission which is that at which maximum fluorescence occurs in the presence of the species undergoing assay.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
40 words
A modification of the method claimed in claim 20, in which the fluorescent molecule or fluorochrome is incorporated into the species which is to be assayed, by known techniques, instead of incorporation into the article as claimed in claim 1.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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