Robert Negm, Ph.D., vp of GenTel BioSciences (www.gentelbio.com), asserted the need for timely risk assessment and specific anticoagulant therapies tailored for individual care for cardiovascular disease. To meet this challenge GenTel is designing a multiplex immunoassay to measure a panel of markers associated with thrombophilia to identify a molecular signature in blood that can be used to aid in early detection and personalized therapy.
GenTels approach involves printing microspots of specific antibodies at unique addressable locations and subsequently measuring their analytical mass simultaneously using a sandwich antibody configuration.
The companys PATH protein microarray slides consist of a nonporous, ultrathin nitrocellulose surface that achieves high immunoassay sensitivity, since the surface chemistry delivers significantly less fluorescent background compared to conventional nitrocellulose slides, resulting with higher signal-to-noise immunoassay measurements.
GenTels assays consist of a sandwich ELISA, where a biotinylated detector antibody specific for the protein target and a Streptavidin-fluorophore conjugate result in a system that measures 1020 proteins in blood with over 5 logs of dynamic range and a sensitivity down to 0.05 pg/mL.
While the original PATH configuration has the dimensions of a conventional microscope slide, the PATH surface chemistry is also available on PATH HTS. The high-throughput configuration allows for 96 distinct antibody microarrays to be processed in parallel on plate-handling robots.
In a collaboration with Haematologic Technologies (www.haemtech.com), GenTel has evaluated tens of clotting factors associated with thrombophilia. To date GenTel has validated matched antibody pairs, specific for prothrombin, Factor V, Factor VII, Factor VIII, Factor IX, Factor X, and Protein C and demonstrated that they bind their cognate antigens without cross-talk (nonspecific binding) to the alternative antigens and these measurements are reproducible.
We aim to partner with Decision Biomarkers (www.decisionbiomarkers. com) and configure our multiplex immunoassay COAG chip for use with their automated instrument, Dr. Negm said.
Decision Biomarkers Multimark Express automates multiplex immunoassays, with a hands-free, lab-on-a-chip process, leaving the user free from fluid transfer, reagent bottles, and contamination issues.