AbD Serotec and E2V Biosensors have launched a research programme to establish E2V's Visucare biosensor system.
Visucare, a detection technology solution for biomarkers using a single-antibody immunoassay, will be used for protein quantification in point of care and near patient testing.
E2V biosensors and AbD Serotec began an initial project in September 2006, bringing together E2V's platform technology and AbD's recombinant antibody technology Hucal.
AbD Serotec has since generated a series of recombinant antibodies suitable for E2V to perform feasibility studies showing proof-of-concept of the Visucare approach.
At the heart of the E2V technology is Surface Enhanced Resonance Raman Spectroscopy (SERRS), an electromagnetic surface-sensitive technique that provides for the detection of single molecules binding to a silver surface.
The key biomolecular construct of Visucare comprises three main components: a Hucal-based antibody, a reporter SERRS dye linked to peptide, and a silver surface supporting the electromagnetic field.
The Hucal-based antibody is immobilised on a silver surface.
The SERRS dye peptide is bound to the Hucal antibody and thus held outside the electromagnetic field.
In the presence of a protein biomarker the SERRS dye peptide is displaced allowing it to bind directly to the silver surface within the electromagnetic field and ultimately giving rise to the SERRS signal.
Visucare does not need an antibody pair to detect the respective biomarker.
Instead it uses a single antibody in a displacement format and does not require any washing or incubation steps, enabling a simple to use system with results in less than 10 minutes.
Additionally, the system allows the monitoring of biomarkers inaccessible to other systems and at low levels of detection.
