Profiling of molecular interactions in real time using acoustic detection

Acoustic sensors that exploit resonating quartz crystals to directly detect the binding of an analyte to a receptor are finding increasing utility in the quantification of clinically relevant analytes. We have developed a novel acoustic detection technology, which we term resonant acoustic profiling (RAP). This technology builds on the fundamental basics of the "quartz crystal microbalance" or "QCM" with several key additional features including two- or four-channel automated sample delivery, in-line referencing and microfluidic sensor 'cassettes' that are pre-coated with easy-to-use surface chemistries. Example applications are described for the quantification of myoglobin concentration and its interaction kinetics, and for the ranking of enzyme-cofactor specificities.