1Λ-RIDe Technology        The patented 1Λ-RIDe technology by our partner Biametrics analyses changes in the optical thickness (n x d) due to specific analyte binding to a bio-functionalized array chip. The measurement is accomplished by detecting the light intensity resulting from the interference of light beams reflected at various surface layers of the sample. This way, no additional staining is required and the binding of the analyte to the surface is monitored in a direct way. All measurements are carried out in a continuous sample flow, facilitating the complete characterization of the kinetics of the binding processes.       

The 1Λ-RIDe technology is largely temperature-independent, making expensive and time-consuming thermostatization of the instrument or the solutions obsolete.       

As a label-free method, the 1Λ-RIDe technology features a direct assay-format without the need of additional components (e.g. fluorescence-labelled antibodies). Thus material- and time intense washing steps inherent in established µArray protocols are not required. As a consequence, the overall quality of the analysis is increased, as the risk of dissociation of weak binders during the washing steps is prevented (false-negatives). Moreover, the 1Λ-RIDe technology does not suffer from the detection of false-positives due to unspecific binding of the fluorescence-labels to the surface       

Measurement Parameters       

• Concentration (< 1 pg/mm2)       * Association rate constants ka (103 – 107 M-1s-1, higher for macromolecular analytes)       * Dissociation rate constants kd (10-6 – 0.5 s-1)       * Affinity constant KD       * Enthalpy (ΔH) and entropy (ΔS)       

  Sample Format        bScreen accepts conventional microscopy slides of 75 x 25 mm2 in size as array chips to guarantee full compatibility to almost all µArray spotters. This way, sample coverage or spotting patterns is not restricted to any pre-defined matrices and the user has complete freedom in the measurement layout. Do to the comprehensive compatibility to established µArray environments, also high-density arrays can be measured, opening the field of real high throughput screening (rHTS) for label-free applications.       

  Operating Software        The bScreen comes with an intuitive software package, which controls the setup-up of measurement protocols, the sample handling as well as the measurement procedure. Integrated interfaces enable the import of *.gal-files containing µArray-definitions for a rapid set-up of the sample area. The performant evaluation-kit enables comprehensive kinetic analyses of the measured data. Versatile export functions allow for the transfer of raw and measurement data to third party software for easy integration of the bScreen into LIMS-environments.