PharmaDiagnostics Launches The First Sopranotm Assay Kit For In-House Assay Development
The new kit allows users to couple their own proteins to SoPRano gold nanoparticles and build and run their own assays. This was previously available only as a service provided by PharmaDiagnostics, and the new kit will now greatly expand the accessibility and utility of the technology to customers. SoPRano technology is based on a variant of the well-established surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon, and for the first time makes label-free screening available in high throughput on a standard plate-reader.
Label-free screening is an area of great interest and growth in pharmaceutical research. To date, the expanding SPR segment of this market has been dominated by providers of expensive specialist instrumentation that is unable, due to technical constraints, to provide the throughput required for routine screening. With the launch of the easy to use SoPRano CA1, the first in a new family of kits, PharmaDiagnostics is now able to deliver on the promise of label-free SPR screening by enabling researchers to develop and run their own high-quality, cost-effective assays without the need for expensive capital equipment.
The kits enable users to develop assays for a range of applications, including fragment screening, focused high throughput screening (HTS), antibody discovery, and hit confirmation. The company also already offers SoPRano kits for a range of ADME and physicochemical properties, including plasma protein binding, pKa and redox potential.
PharmaDiagnostics’ SoPRano label-free platform is the first SPR-based system to utilize standard plate-readers, and simple assay protocols. This increases for researchers, lowers barrier to adoption and also offers excellent scalability, thus lowering costs, as it is not necessary to increase instrument expenditure to increase throughput.
“The new SoPRano assay kit is another illustration of PharmaDiagnostics’ commitment towards providing broader access to label-free screening technology,” said Dr David Ricketts, CEO at PharmaDiagnostics. “We have seen that the market is seeking flexible access to label-free screening technology, which we now offer both as a service in PharmaDiagnostics’ laboratories, as well as through the SoPRano kits which enable customers to develop and run their own assays.”
About PharmaDiagnostics NV
PharmaDiagnostics NV develops label-free screening technology with the unique capability in its market of operating without the need for specialized hardware. The technology is broadly enabling and applicable to a range of applications including: receptor-ligand binding; enzymatic reactions; antibody screening and ADME. The assays are very sensitive and have the potential for very high throughput. The company is focused upon developing assay kits for use in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and also offers bespoke assay development services. PharmaDiagnostics’ novel technology platform, SoPRanoTM, is based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and noble metal nanoparticles, and is run on standard laboratory equipment.
The company, based in the Z1 Research Park in Zellik, near Brussels, was founded in 2007. It has raised more than EUR 4.0 million (USD 5.6M) in two rounds of venture funding and EUR 100,000 in grants from IWT (Instituut voor de aanmoediging van innovatie door Wetenschap & Technologie in Vlaanderen), a Flemish innovation agency.
Lynne Chapman ANDREW LLOYD & ASSOCIATES http://www.ala.com lynne@ala.com
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