Atomic force microscopy study of immunosensor surface to scale down the size of ELISA-type sensors
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: Here we describe the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the nanoscale mechanics of the molecular layers of a popular immunosensor, ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) type. We characterize the sensor surface in terms of brush length and grafting density of the molecular layers. The obtained data demonstrated that a reliable reading of the immunosignal (a suggested dimensionless combination of brush length and grafting density) can be attained from an area as small as approximately 3 microm(2). This is approximately 4 million times smaller compared to typical ELISA sensors. The immunosensor described is composed of a molecular mix of two different antigens. Intriguingly, we find that AFM can reliably distinguish between having the immunosignal from either antibody and from both antibodies together. This was impossible to get by using standard optical detection methods.
Source: Nanotechnology
Authors: D Volkov, G Strack, J Halámek, E Katz, I Sokolov
Institution: Clarkson University
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2168808452