PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY COLLOQUIUM

Thursday, September 7, 2006
4:10P.M.

1415 Biomedical & Physical Sciences Bldg.
Refreshments at 3:30p.m. in Rm. 1400 BPS Bldg.


Speaker: Ronald E. Sager, CEO
         Quantum Design

Title:   The Use of Paramagnetic Microspheres in Immuno-Assays

Abstract:

Paramagnetic microspheres have been used for many years in biotechnology to
separate analytes of interest from other reagents.  An instrument recently
developed at Quantum Design, called the Magnetic Assay Reader (MAR), now
allows these same microspheres to be used as a quantitative label in Lateral
Flow Tests for Immunodiagnostic applications.  (The common home-use
pregnancy test sold in drugstores is a very typical Lateral Flow Test.)
Many Point-of-Care Lateral Flow Tests are now available in the diagnostic
community, including tests for cardiac conditions and a variety of
infectious diseases, but all of these tests lack both sensitivity and
accuracy.  Using the MAR technology we have developed a new class of
Magneto-Immuno-Chromatographic Tests (MICT's) that offer the speed and
convenience of conventional Lateral Flow Tests, but provide sensitivity and
accuracy comparable to the Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA) tests
that are today's gold standard of the diagnostics industry.  This
presentation describes the MAR technology and presents quantitative results
from a variety of studies we have performed to demonstrate the performance
of our MICT technology.