Fixed polarizer ellipsometry for simple and sensitive detection of thin films generated by specific molecular interactions: applications in immunoassays and DNA sequence detection

Biological thin films may form on a surface by specific molecular interactions. The fixed polarizer ellipsometer (FPE) is a sensitive instrument that detects biological thin films either qualitatively or quantitatively. The design is simple and inexpensive. The assays are formatted on an optical sur...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical chemistry (Baltimore, Md.) Md.), 1998-09, Vol.44 (9), p.2031-2035
Main Authors: Ostroff, Rachel M, Maul, Diana, Bogart, Gregory R, Yang, Shao, Christian, Jennifer, Hopkins, Deborah, Clark, David, Trotter, Brian, Moddel, Garret
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
alpha-Fetoproteins - analysis
Antigens, Bacterial - analysis
Biological and medical sciences
DNA - chemistry
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Hepatitis B Surface Antigens - blood
Humans
Immunoassay - instrumentation
Immunoassay - methods
Instrumentation. Materials. Reagents. Research laboratory organization
Light
Models, Theoretical
Nucleic Acid Hybridization - methods
Sensitivity and Specificity
Streptococcus pyogenes - immunology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Biological thin films may form on a surface by specific molecular interactions. The fixed polarizer ellipsometer (FPE) is a sensitive instrument that detects biological thin films either qualitatively or quantitatively. The design is simple and inexpensive. The assays are formatted on an optical surface, and the FPE detection is based on the phase shift of linearly polarized light after reflection through a thin film. We have constructed mathematical models of the FPE response to reflection through single-layer and two-layer films that agree closely with experimental data. Several biological assays have been measured with the FPE to demonstrate the application of this technology to clinical targets, including ultrasensitive immunoassays for hepatitis B surface antigen (0.1 ng/mL) and alpha-fetoprotein (0.01 ng/ mL) and DNA hybridization (0.5 fmol/microL target probe). A clinical study for detection of group A streptococcus from patient throat swabs demonstrated the qualitative application of the FPE to infectious disease targets. The flexibility and sensitivity of the FPE makes this technology suitable for numerous target analytes and applications.
ISSN:0009-9147
1530-8561
DOI:10.1093/clinchem/44.9.2031