Patent for Ultra-Sensitive and Rapid Assay System

MENLO PARK, CA, June 22, 2015 — LamdaGen Corporation, a leading developer of diagnostic biosensors, today announced it has received notification from the European Patent Office (EPO) of its intention to grant the patent application entitled “Enzymatic Assays for LSPR” which enables highly sensitive and rapid diagnostic assays.

LamdaGen’s patented nano-based LSPR (Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance) sensors are ideally suited for In-Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) and Point of Care Testing (POCT) systems, facilitating precise quantitation into the low femtomolar range, significantly lower than that of current conventional ELISA assays. This new patent broadly covers nano-plasmonic LSPR surfaces and particles used as solid supports for high-speed and quantitative plasmonic immunoassays.

This EPO allowance, coupled with other patents and patents in process, serves to expand the application and protection of the Company’s core LSPR technologies. “The granting of this patent underscores LamdaGen’s novel ability to harness the significant potential of advanced plasmonics to greatly enhance detection sensitivity, precision and speed over current commercial diagnostics,” commented Randy Storer, CEO and Founder of LamdaGen Corporation. “We are working with a number of global companies to integrate our powerful LSPR sensing technology into existing diagnostic systems, various mobile devices and other advanced IVD systems companies have in development.”

About LamdaGen Corporation

LamdaGen is a private nano-based technology platform company who is the first to produce commercial LSPR products. The products include highly sensitive nano-biosensors for In Vitro Diagnostics, including Central Laboratory based and Point of Care testing for human, veterinary and farm animal health. The Company’s nanotechnology platforms are also purposed for additional scientific applications and products including drug discovery and development and life science research. For more information, visit www.lamdagen.com or email info@lamdagen.com

Integrated Nanoplasmonic Sensing for Cellular Functional Immunoanalysis Using Human Blood

ACS Nano, February 19, 2014

Bo-Ram Oh, University of Michigan, et al.

Abstract: 

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) nanoplasmonic effects allow for label-free, real-time detection of biomolecule binding events on a nanostructured metallic surface with simple optics and sensing tunability. Despite numerous reports on LSPR bionanosensing in the past, no study thus far has applied the technique for a cytokine secretion assay using clinically relevant immune cells from human blood. Cytokine secretion assays, a technique to quantify intercellular-signaling proteins secreted by blood immune cells, allow determination of the functional response of the donor’s immune cells, thus providing valuable information about the immune status of the donor. However, implementation of LSPR bionanosensing in cellular functional immunoanalysis based on a cytokine secretion assay poses major challenges primarily owing to its limited sensitivity and a lack of sufficient sample handling capability. In this paper, we have developed a label-free LSPR biosensing technique to detect cell-secreted tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α cytokines in clinical blood samples. Our approach integrates LSPR bionanosensors in an optofluidic platform that permits trapping and stimulation of target immune cells in a microfluidic chamber with optical access for subsequent cytokine detection. The on-chip spatial confinement of the cells is the key to rapidly increasing a cytokine concentration high enough for detection by the LSPR setup, thereby allowing the assay time and sample volume to be significantly reduced. We have successfully applied this approach first to THP-1 cells and then later to CD45 cells isolated directly from human blood. Our LSPR optofluidics device allows for detection of TNF-α secreted from cells as few as 1000, which translates into a nearly 100 times decrease in sample volume than conventional cytokine secretion assay techniques require. We achieved cellular functional immunoanalysis with a minimal blood sample volume (3 μL) and a total assay time 3 times shorter than that of the conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) affects approximately 1.1 million people in the United States, with a 30% mortality rate.  A specific protein marker found in cardiac muscle, cardiac troponin I (cTnI), has shown its superior and essential role for early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, as well as for post-infarction risk assessment.  The amount of cTnI in blood initially rises within 2-3 hours after the onset of chest discomfort and remains elevated for 7-14 days.  Troponin levels are positively correlated with the extent of heart muscle damage.  A rapid and high-sensitivity cTnI assay allows detection of even trivial myocardial damage, and therefore provides physicians with the necessary information to administer critical care at an earlier time.

LamdaGen has developed a highly sensitive cTnI assay using reagents supplied by HyTest Ltd.  The assay is described as an Optical Enhancement System^™ (OES^™)-based immunoassay – also known as a Plasmonic ELISA™.

This high-sensitivity cTnI plasmonic ELISA utilizes sandwich immunoassay-coupled Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) technology to precisely quantitate the concentration of cTnI in human plasma and serum specimens. The enhanced sensitivity of the OES plasmonic ELISA is achieved through an enzyme-catalyzed precipitation reaction occurring on the LSPR sensor surface following specific intermolecular binding.  Subsequent deposition of these precipitates on the LSPR surface leads to pronounced changes in sensor color and absorption spectra in a dose-dependent manner. The analyte quantitation is highly reproducible.

Link to HyTest’s Cardiac Troponin I Tech Note

Extends the Company’s Patent Estate for its Nano-based LSPR Platform

MENLO PARK, CA, April 24, 2013 — LamdaGen Corporation, a nano-technology platform company that provides plasmonic sensors and systems for diagnostics and life sciences, announced the United State Patent and Trademark Office (USTPO) issuance of patent “Enzymatic Assays for LSPR” for performing quantitative diagnostics via Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR).

The patent claims broadly cover plasmonic surfaces and nano-particles used for LSPR-oriented ELISA. The Company’s proprietary LSPR metallic thin-films are easily grown onto practically any solid support, thereby allowing compatibility with a wide range of current IVD systems — including plate-based throughput platforms and rapid diagnostic systems for Point-of-Care.

“Our plasmonic ELISA provides for rapid quantitative detection with excellent reproducibility at sensitivity levels exceeding conventional ELISAs by as much as four orders of magnitude,” commented Randy Storer, CEO and Co-Founder of LamdaGen Corporation. “The issuance of this patent illustrates LamdaGen’s unique ability to harness modern plasmonics for advancing In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD).”

This patent is the latest addition to LamdaGen’s growing global IP portfolio for plasmonic-based nano-applications in diagnostics, contaminant-monitoring and life science research.

About LamdaGen Corporation

LamdaGen is a nano-technology platform company providing plasmonic sensors and analytical systems for diagnostic and life science markets. The company’s Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) sensors and systems enable real-time detection of biomolecular interactions, as well as enzymatic and chemical reactions. LamdaGen is a privately held company headquartered in Menlo Park, California and is the first to offer commercial LSPR products. For more information, visit www.lamdagen.com or email info@lamdagen.com

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MENLO PARK, CA — LamdaGen Corporation, a nano-technology platform company that provides plasmonic sensors and systems for diagnostics and life sciences, announced the Japanese Patent Office issuance of patent number 5203390, “Enzymatic Assays for LSPR”, which enables highly sensitive and quantitative diagnostics.

“The issuance of this patent underscores LamdaGen’s unique ability to harness the significant potential of modern plasmonics in greatly enhancing the detection sensitivity and speed of current immuno-diagnostics,” commented Randy Storer, CEO and Co-Founder of LamdaGen Corporation. “We are working with a number of companies to integrate our powerful technology into their existing diagnostic systems and devices or advanced IVD systems they have under development.”

The patent claims broadly cover nano-plasmonic surfaces and particles used in various ways as solid supports for high-speed plasmonic ELISA assays. The methods can facilitate detection limits into the femtomolar range, nearly four orders of magnitude lower than that of conventional ELISA assays.

About LamdaGen Corporation

LamdaGen is a nano-technology platform company providing plasmonic sensors and analytical systems for diagnostic and life science markets. The company’s Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) sensors and systems enable real-time detection of biomolecular interactions, as well as enzymatic and chemical reactions. LamdaGen is a privately held company headquartered in Menlo Park, California and is the first to offer commercial LSPR products.

For more information, visit www.lamdagen.com or email info@lamdagen.com

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A Nanostructured Thin Film Commercial LSPR Platform for Ultra-Sensitive Point-of-Care Diagnostics

2012 SPIE Photonics West Conference 8229: 

Optical Diagnostics and Sensing XII:  Towards Point-Of-Care Diagnostics
Author:  Daniele Gerion, LamdaGen Corporation
Contact:  info@lamdagen.com
Phone:  650.571.5816
Website:  www.lamdagen.com

ABSTRACT

We present an optical platform for rapid point-of-care diagnostics based on a metallic nanostructured thin film that exhibits an enhanced Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR). The optical biosensor is composed of a stable thin gold film that displays a color visible to the naked eye. The color of the film changes when a bioassay is performed on its surface and the change can be measured and quantitated with simple hardware. The color shift is dependent on the bioanalyte concentration, and this color change can be very large, i.e. surfaces can migrate from burgundy to dark-blue or even green. Further, these color changes can be precisely quantified. The precise quantification allows us to build dose-response curves and titrate unknowns.

The LSPR thin films are also compatible with various complex media – cell lysates, sera and whole blood – while also being impervious to extreme acidic or alkaline conditions.

The LSPR technology has been quantitated against ELISA in a series of models and has been shown to be more sensitive and faster, in the order of minutes vs. hours. We will discuss the physics behind the technology, its sensitivity and limits of detection. We will illustrate the films performance in various evolving diagnostic fields, such as predictive assays for cervical cancer, cardiac biomarkers, and the detection of low level toxins.

In conclusion, we will discuss how commercially available LSPR film technology can be integrated into economical multi-panel POC handheld devices for broad adoption in diagnostics.

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Characterization and Performance of Commercial Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Chips

2012 SPIE Photonics West Conference 8234: 

Plasmonics in Biology and Medicine

Author:  Daniele Gerion, LamdaGen Corporation
Contact:  info@lamdagen.com
Phone:  650.571.5816
Website:  www.lamdagen.com

ABSTRACT

We present a commercial platform for both label-free and labeled bioanalysis based on Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance. The platform relies on mass-produced nanostructured thin films with robust and reproducible plasmon resonances. The physical properties of these films (reproducibility, optical properties) as well as their stability, noise level, and intrinsic detection limits will be discussed. Also, we will illustrate the performance and strength of the platform in real-life assays. We will show how the sensitivity barrier can be lowered from the ng/mL range to the pg/mL range using the very same chip and different implementations.  The examples will demonstrate how rich, fast, simple and reliable the platform is.

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The EPPIC 2012 Annual Conference

Topic:  Leveraging Emerging Markets and Technologies in Life Sciences

The EPPIC annual life science conference combines networking, mentoring, keynote lectures and panel discussions on current topics. The annual conference also focuses on promoting cross border (US-India) collaborations and attracts multiple individuals and organizations interested in leveraging potential synergies. This year’s panels should give attendees a good grasp of the latest trends in industry including:  Personalized Medicine, Pre-Clinical CROs, Speed Pitch presentations by Life Science start-ups, and Biologics/Biosimilars. The annual conference will also feature a speed networking session to promote interaction among attendees. The conference brings budding and seasoned entrepreneurs, senior executives, scientists, venture capitalists and legal experts, together to tell their stories and will attract potential partners, employees and investors.

More info: www.eppicglobal.org

Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance for Bioprocess Development, Monitoring, and Validation

BioProcess International, Vol. 9, No. 8, September 2011, pp. 70–75

Academic laboratories have embraced localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) as the “new wave” of label-free technology (1). This technique is based on the ability of colloidal metal nanoparticles or nanostructured metallic films to absorb light in a narrow wavelength range. Metal nanostructures “sense” changes occurring at their surfaces by shifting the frequency of the light they absorb or reflect. As a consequence, a basic LSPR system requires only optical fibers, a source of white light, and a detector (1,2). The simplicity of LSPR instrumentation contrasts with its exquisite sensitivity. Binding events and functional activity of nucleases (3) and proteases (4) can be monitored and quantified in real time based on observation of a single 20-nm nanoparticle — probably one of the world’s smallest biosensing supports (5).

Nanostructured metallic films, rather than isolated metal nanoparticles, enable commercial endeavors by their robust and reproducible nature. With recent advances in nanofabrication and characterization, stable metal films can be manufactured at a large and cost-effective scale on a wide range of surfaces (2). Such films retain their nanostructures and the physical properties of nanoparticles. As a result, LSPR technology is quickly moving from proof-of-principle experiments to commercialization.

Key features of the technology include its marginal bulk effect and compatibility with various matrices, including cell media and sera. In addition, LSPR can accommodate label-free and labeled implementations, with the latter pushing its detection limits into the femto- to picomolar range (2). Various approaches using the same core technology allow detection of biologics in concentrations spanning from trace contaminants to levels of therapeutic antibodies in fermentation broths and cell culture supernatants. Furthermore, LSPR assays can be performed either at line or in line. As a result, this is a platform particularly well suited for all stages of bioprocessing, from development to monitoring and validation…

Continue to full article in BioProcess International

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