The invention provides a tandemly repeated protein comprising at least two repeats of an amino acid sequence of an antibody binding protein or a fragment thereof and a cell having the repeats expressed on the membrane thereof, which can be used in immunoassay to improve detection sensitivity and detection limit.

Disclosed is a localised surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) nanopillar assembly. The LSPR assembly is for use in sensing the presence of a biomarker when attached to a quantum dot. The LSPR assembly comprises a substrate and an array. The array comprises a LSPR nanopillar and a polymer spacer attached to the nanopillar. The LSPR assembly further comprises an antibody attached to the at least one polymer spacer. In the LSPR assembly, a combined height of the polymer spacer and antibody is selected by varying the number of monomer units of the polymer spacer, so that, when in use with the biomarker and the quantum dot, the quantum dot is at a predetermined distance from the nanopillar.

Provided is a material-fixing substrate that does not have to use copper as a catalyst because the substrate-bonding site includes a cyclic alkyne to form a covalent bond with a surface of the substrate, and therefore that can reduce damage to a cell, for example, in a case where a to-be-fixed material is the cell. The material-fixing substrate has a to-be-fixed material fixed thereon via a material-fixing agent. The material-fixing agent includes: a substrate-bonding site that forms a covalent bond with a surface of the substrate and includes at least a cyclic alkyne; a hydrophilic site that is bonded to the substrate-bonding site; a light-responsive site that is bonded to the hydrophilic site and changes the skeleton thereof by irradiation with light; and an attachment site to which the to-be-fixed material is attached.

A multiplexed digital detection platform embodiment for molecular species in solution is based on a single-molecule immunochemistry, and/or aptamer chemistry, on color-barcoded beads. Beads that capture molecular species from a complex sample using selective binders are exposed to a test sample, and the captured molecular species is tagged using second affinity probes that are linked to photocleavable nucleic acid particles. In the embodiment, the beads are then introduced to a counter system that comprises a microcavity/nanopore device. Once a bead is captured by the micropore, nucleic acid particles, e.g., reporter nucleic acid nanoparticles (rNANPs), are released using photocleavage, and are detected by the nanopore. Each electrical spike that is uniquely produced by the nucleic acid nanoparticle is counted as a single molecular species, and the total count represents the overall number of molecular species in the sample. Various molecular species can be detected at the same time.

Provided and described herein is the use of an oligomeric protein as a binding agent for binding to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the oligomeric protein having a coiled coil structure comprising at least two monomer peptides, wherein each monomer peptide, which may be the same or different, is capable of forming an α-helix and comprises at least one core sequence having at least 60% sequence identity to the heptad repeat sequence of SEQ ID NO. 1. Also provide and described herein are methods of binding, detecting and removing LPS, and products comprising the oligomeric protein.

A method of manipulating and/or investigating cellular bodies (9) is provided. The method comprises the steps of: providing a sample holder (3) comprising a holding space (5) for holding a fluid medium (11); providing a sample (7) comprising one or more cellular bodies (9) in a fluid medium (11) in the holding space (5); generating an acoustic wave in the holding space exerting a force (F) on the sample (7) in the holding space (5). The method further comprises providing the holding space (5) with a functionalised wall surface portion (17) to be contacted by the sample (7) and the sample (7) is in contact with the functionalised wall surface portion (17) during at least part of the step of application of the acoustic wave. A system and a sample holder (3) are also provided.

There is provided compositions for the detection of target cellular material, the composition comprising: a chemically modified substrate; at least one binding moiety, wherein the binding moiety comprises a glycan; and at least one linker covalently linked to the substrate and the binding moiety by a first and second bond. There is also provided methods of preparation of such compositions and methods for detection of target cellular material, such as for detection of pathogenic microorganisms.

The present invention provides a coating comprising hyaluronic acid (HA), for application on the surface of a medical sampling device, wherein the HA is end-point attached to the surface of the medical device. It also provides a process for applying a coating comprising HA onto the surface of a medical sampling device, wherein the HA is end-point attached to the surface of the device, comprising a step (A) of aminating the surface, followed by a step (B) of end-point attaching the HA to the surface, preferably followed by a step (C) of blocking any residual amine groups on the surface. The invention also provides a medical diagnostic device comprising the coating.

Methods and systems for identifying a protein within a sample are provided herein. A panel of antibodies are acquired, none of which are specific for a single protein or family of proteins. Additionally, the binding properties of the antibodies in the panel are determined. Further, the protein is iteratively exposed to a panel of antibodies. Additionally, a set of antibodies which bind the protein are determined. The identity of the protein is determined using one or more deconvolution methods based on the known binding properties of the antibodies to match the set of antibodies to a sequence of a protein.

Processes for quantifying an amount of functional groups immobilized on a solid support are described herein. The processes allow for determining whether sufficient functional groups are provided on a solid support for the attachment of a first binding pair member for the detection of a target analyte.