Detection of biospecific interactions using amplified ellipsometry

Amplified detection of biomolecules and biological interactions using an optical surface technique, ellipsometry, is demonstrated for two biosystems--immunoglobulin G with anti-immunoglobulin G (IgG) and the lectin concanavalin A (Con A) with yeast cells. In order to improve the sensitivity of the ellipsometer signal, an amplifier conjugate is formed by binding the affinity ligand to a 12-nm silica particle which is readily detected by the ellipsometer. Thus by using conjugates of IgG-silica and Con A-silica, amplifications of five to seven times have been obtained enabling detection of less than 20 pg/mm2 of biomolecular material.