2009 R&D 100 Winner
Traditional biomolecular interaction analysis was in a two-dimensional mode. Silicon Kinetics, Inc.’s (San Diego, Calif.) SKi Pro brings it into the three-dimensional world. The SKi Pro analytical instrument platform provides for the label-free quantification of real-time protein interactions in either flow cell or well-plate form. It combines optical interferometry and a 3-D nanoporous biochip in a technique called nanopore optical interferometry (NPOI). Biochips are formed by etching 80 mm wide, 1,500 nm deep parallel pores into the face of a silicon wafer. During measurement, a white light probe passes through these light transmitting pores and interacts with the length of a protein monolayer attached to the pore walls. This creates an interference pattern, detected by reflection, which tracks the binding signal in real time. The 3-D surface provides an 80x enhancement over the typical planar surface.
Technology
Analytical instrument platform for label-free quantification of real-time protein interactions
Developer
Silicon Kinetics, Inc.
