The EPFL licenses a method for probing biomolecular interactions by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy.

Benefits :

¨ Fast and simple production of robust sensing surfaces
¨ Sensitive, label-free detection of ligand-receptor interactions
¨ Minimal sample consumption

Patent status :

Patents pending in US and Europe, Int. publication WO 9905509.

Keywords :

Functional screening, label-free detection, ligand-receptor interactions, immunosensor, ligand-gated ion channels, GPCRs.

Contact researcher / inventor :
Prof. Dr. Horst Vogel
Director of EPFL-DC-LCPPM
CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
horst.vogel@epfl.ch
http://icpsg3.epfl.ch

Tel : +41 21 693 31 55
Fax : +41 21 693 61 90

Contact Technology Transfer Office :
Gabriel Clerc, Head of EPFL-SRI
CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

gabriel.clerc@epfl.ch
http://sprwww.epfl.ch/sri

Tel : +41 21 693 35 82
Fax : +41 21 693 70 40

File ref. 6.0040 (EPFL-SRI)

LIGAND RECEPTOR INTERACTIONS PROBED BY FTIR SPECTROSCOPY

The central part of this invention is the formation of an ultrathin, continuous gold film on the surface of a solid support suitable for ATR (attenuated total reflection) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The gold film is thin enough to be transparent for the infrared probe beam, but thick enough to be used for the immobilization of sulphur-bearing compounds by forming stable, covalent sulpur-gold bonds. Biomolecular interactions can be detected with high sensitivity via molecule-specific bands in the corresponding infrared spectra if one of the interacting partners is immobilized on the gold surface. Of particular interest are immobilized membrane proteins (see EPFL's licensing opportunity 'Tethered lipid bilayers for functional receptor assays', US patent 5,756,355 and EP patent Nr. 0637 384).

Potential Commercial Applications
¨
Drug screening
¨ Probing biomolecular interactions (biotechnology, food industry, environmental and medical analytics)
¨ Anigen-antibody interactions
¨ DNA sensors