The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued an additional patent related to the Epic system that deals with the study of unpurified biological samples with label-free biosensor technology
This advanced discovery will enable researchers to study the interactions between drug targets and more biologically relevant samples such as cell supernatants and cell lysates, says Corning.
It will also help to improve overall data quality and reduce the time and expense associated with identifying and labeling drug targets.
The study of molecular interactions in high-throughput screening has become an essential part of the drug discovery process.
Many conventional screening methods require highly purified molecules as well as complex labeling methods, both of which can compromise the biological relevance of the interactions being studied.
Applications such as hybridoma screening and cell lysates require the ability to detect biomolecular interactions in complex samples.
"The ability of the Corning Epic system to screen complex samples such as cell lysates and supernatants in drug discovery represents a significant step forward in rapidly identifying novel and biologically relevant interactions," said Mannix Aklian, commercial development manager and the Corning inventor responsible for this new patent.
This latest patent, US Patent No 7,349,080 entitled "Label-independent Detection of Unpurified Analytes," adds to Corning's extensive patent portfolio related to the Epic System and label-free, optical biosensor technology.
Previously, Corning acquired exclusive rights to US Patent No 5,738,825, a fundamental patent related to optical-based biosensors in a microplate format.
"We are committed to enabling our customers to realize the great potential of label-free technology in drug discovery and beyond," said Ron Verkleeren, Epic business director, Corning.
