E2v and AbD Serotec collaborate to develop single-antibody immunoassay

Collaboration developed

Morphosys, spun out from research at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany, is continuing its collaboration with e2v biosensors to launch a research programme to develop Visucare, a single-antibody immunoassay for biomarker detection which will be used for protein quantification in point of care and near patient testing.

e2v will validate proof -of -concept of its Visucare biosensor system using antibodies from AbD Serotec, a division of Morphosys, which has a library of 12 billion distinct fully human recombinant antibodies, known as HuCAL (Human Combinatorial Antibody Library). Biomarkers will be detected by a single antibody within 10 minutes without the need for secondary antibodies and superfluous washing steps.

Visucare technology relies of e2v’s proprietary SERRS (Surface Enhanced Resonance Raman Spectroscopy) reporter dye, bound to a peptide and a silver surface that supports a magnetic field. The HuCAL antibody is bound and immobilised to the silver surface but maintained outside the electromagnetic field through its binding to the SERRS dye peptide. Binding of a protein biomarker to the silver surface in place of the SERRS dye peptide generates a SERRS signal.

Paul Rodgers, of e2v biosensors, said: “The Visucare system offers several unique advantages over other systems available for biomarker point of care analysis, with its multiplex capability, high sensitivity and high specificity. We are currently developing a cardiac point of care panel as well as other unique biomarker applications. AbD Serotec’s ability to provide highly selective recombinant antibodies capable of binding both protein and derived peptides and genetically engineered to display surface binding activity has been crucial for establishing the system. We are now looking for a strategic partner to fully exploit the commercial potential of the Visucare approach in a broad range of point of care and pathology applications.”

Achim Knappik, of AbD Serotec, said: “Today’s news further exemplifies the unique flexibility of our HuCAL antibody platform and the broad range of potential applications which we can target. E2v’s approach to establish a novel type of point of care system is highly innovative and very interesting both scientifically and commercially. We are delighted to provide e2v with our HuCAL GOLD technology as the source of a key biomolecular construct for the e2v biosensor system to explore their efforts in this space.”