Smaller and faster biocalorimeter for ultra-sensitive temperature sensing that helps reduce drug-development cost and risk
Summary Innovation and Advantages: We have developed a novel calorimetry device for ultra-sensitive temperature sensing associated with a chemical reaction using surface plasmon-enhanced radiation. Radiation is directed at a thin electrically conductive film having one or more small apertures. The incident radiation excites surface plasmons on a first surface of the electrically conductive film, and energy associated with the surface plasmons couples to an opposite surface of the electrically conductive film, where surface plasmon-enhanced radiation (SPER) is emitted from the apertures. A temperature-sensitive fluid or solid dielectric material is disposed adjacent to at least a portion of the electrically conductive film, such that a temperature change in the dielectric material alters a resonance condition for the SPER. Measurable changes in the SPER due to altered resonance conditions provide for an ultra-sensitive temperature sensor that can detect small temperature changes in the dielectric material. Our novel calorimetry device improves the productivity of the medicinal chemistry process by assessing binding interactions more accurately and optimizing molecule chemistry and structure. This chip-scale, faster biocalorimeter could help reduce drug-development cost and risk. The device may be used for a variety of application including nanoscale to microscale calorimetry for pharmaceutical and biotechnology products, combustion sensing, explosive detection, and biotoxin monitoring.Additional Information: There is a U.S. patent issued as well as several patent applications have filed and are pending on the technology.
Contact: Alan Gordon, [email protected], Harvard Reference: 2639
Applications Markets/Needs Addressed: Calorimetry provides early, detailed insight into binding interactions and is a particularly advantageous method used to study the thermodynamics of binding interactions. Calorimetry measures the energy released or absorbed by a chemical reaction, and uses this information to determine the thermodynamic properties, stoichiometry, and binding constant for the reaction, which are important indicators of bioactivity. These data are used to characterize the structure, activity, and function of proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and other biomolecules, and that information is then used to design and optimize drugs. But conventional calorimetry methods are not widely used because they require large amount of reactants, generate low sample throughput, require long experiment run times and need sequential run controls to assess the significance for confounding effects. In addition, current calorimetry devices are expensive and complex and provide insufficient sensitivity for some reactions. For Further Information Please Contact the Director of Business Development Alan Gordon Email: [email protected] Telephone: (617) 384-5000
Inventor(s): Larson, Dale N
Type of Offer: Licensing
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