Oct 7 2015
In course of the Basel Life Science Week 2015 Sony DADC BioSciences and FIANOSTICS GmbH announced a collaboration on highly sensitive and rapid fluorescence immunoassays using a novel polymer/metal hybrid for the use in metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF). Sony DADC uses its well established manufacturing processes derived from Blu-ray disc production.
Photonic nanostructures to enhance fluorescence (Photo: Business Wire)
“The quantification of serum biomarkers has become an essential part of modern medical science. As these are often present in very small amounts only, there is a permanent need for raising the sensitivity of the assay methods to increase reliability of study results,” said Dr. Gerhard Hawa, CEO at FIANOSTICS GmbH.
Metal-enhanced fluorescence is a promising technology to deliver such highly sensitive tests. MEF is based on the electromagnetic interaction of excitation light with nanometre-sized metal structures, which dramatically increases the quantum yield of fluorescent molecules in the immediate vicinity of the metal structures. This increase in light yield can be used to generate highly sensitive biomarker tests. Successful commercialization of clinical tests based on MEF depends on highly reproducible manufacturing of the required metal-nano structures and development of suitable bioassays for that platform. FIANOSTICS and Sony DADC BioSciences have developed such a new MEF platform and bioassays for clinical research which are compatible to any given assay format (e.g. microtiter plate, microfluidic chips, arrays or lateral flow devices etc.) using Sony DADC’s established industrial processes.
“The new platform uses polymer based substrates which are microstructured and coated with metal layers using well established technologies. This guarantees the high degree of reproducibility and surface uniformity necessary for reliable assay results and allows competitive pricing of the MEF-substrates”, said Dr. Christoph Mauracher, Senior Vice President at Sony DADC BioSciences.