KCS

The protein chip is a powerful emerging technology for biomedical applications. In contrast to the DNA chip, however, the development of optimal surface materials for protein chips that can maintain the activity of embedded proteins, which be produced at low cost to replace the materials used in current technology, have presented great challenges. Previously, an optimized, low-cost sol-gel biomaterials for the preparation of protein chips with significantly improved physical properties and sensitivity was reported. Unique screening and selection procedures were used to produce a novel protein chip material with 1,000 times increased sensitivity. Here, the characterization of this material revealed the presence of dual nanoporous structures within the 3 dimensional microspots. This material was successfully applied to a 96 well format hepatitis diagnosis, compatible to an ELISA method. This study overcomes the current drawbacks of protein chip materials and enables the use of sol-gel derived protein chip materials for biomedical research and diagnosis. References S. Kim*, Y. Kim, P. Kim, J. Ha, M. Sohn, JS. Yoo, J. Lee, JA. Kwon and KN. Lee. Improved sensitivity and physical properties of sol-gel protein chips using large-scale material screening and selection. Anal Chem. 78(21) 7392-7396. (2006)