A platform technology for quantitative diagnostics, monitoring or screening applications.

UTS™ technology, based on well-proven procedures and reagents, represents a generally applicable, novel, low cost technology platform for the study and quantitation of most receptor-target binding assays. The technology can be easily automated, multiplexed and miniaturised making it suitable for the Point-of-Use market in clinical and veterinary in-vitro diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food quality assurance. The system also has clear potential in the pharmaceutical sector and R&D.

Proven applicability to high, medium and low molecular weight analytes, indicates the ability to perform a wide range of immunoassays currently required in routine and special clinical laboratories, as well as food quality assurance and environmental applications, all in a simplified format and at a competitive price. Recent advances have shown applicability for enzyme substrates and ions.

The patented UTS™ technology provides a universally applicable proprietary platform suitable for a whole range of diagnostic tests and other quantitative assays requiring high analytical sensitivity inter alia biochips, immunoassay diagnostics, theranostics, DNA diagnostics, acidification assays, food quality assurance, environmental monitoring and not least, proteomics and drug development. Utilising simple novel potentiometric measurements UTS™ has already shown it can achieve higher sensitivity levels than those generally achieved by amperometric and optical biosensors. UTS™ technology has the advantage of simplicity and sensitivity (<50fM), at a low cost, utilising tried and tested technologies in a novel arrangement.

The UTS™ technology requires minimal sample preparation, is rapid (<15mins for a single assay), has shown a wide dynamic range (4-5 orders of magnitude) and is suitable for multi-analyte determination. In essence it could be arranged as a simple one shot disposable diagnostic, a panel of tests or even a small sensor array. The terms biosensor, sensor array and biochip (cell-chip, protein-chip or even DNA-chip) are all applicable.

UTS™ Microarray protein chip technology: a chip platform for diagnostics and R&D

UTS™ technology lends itself to single test strips or multi-analyte panel testing. The preferred array size would be less than fifty, although, arrays of a hundred or more are conceivable, subject to more complicated electronics and tracking. The sensor chips can be screen-printed or engineered onto an electronic PCB board. The shape and layout of the sensors can have bespoke design. For automation and POC applications the chips can be incorporated into a plastic molded enclosure containing the fluidics required to apply the sample and perform the assay steps.

How does it work?

The technology detects receptor-target complexes (proteins (e.g. antibodies) or DNA) formed on a conductive polymer layer attached to the electrode. Using the patented measuring protocol, detection is mediated by a secondary reaction that produces charged products causing a shift in potential at the surface of an electrode due to local changes in redox states or pH. Direct measurement of pH, or ionic strength is also possible.

The polypyrrole grown by Sensortec is done in a particular manner that allows the polypyrrole to behave reproducibly to direct electron transfer (mediatorless). This coupled to the proprietary measurement protocols removes the worries of spontaneous potential shifts due to solution effects such ion exchange on the polymer/solution interface or oxidation/reduction of the polymer by solution redox reactants (e.g. dissolved oxygen) or discharge of the polymer capacitance.

In contrast to many other systems using polypyrrole we actually use it as the transducer itself not just as a conducting or entrapment layer between the biology and the electrode.

What we mean by being a transducer is that the effects of the biological and electrochemistry happening at the surface of our sensor in a controlled manner (i.e. in our measuring solution with our protocol) changes the electrical and physical nature of the polypyrrole layer which causes a substantial and non nernstian shift in potential. This is due mainly to electron withdrawl but also in part probably to deprotonation due to pH changes and selective ion exchange processes. The interaction of conjugated polymers with electron acceptors or donors in particular causes changes in both carrier density and mobility, leading to significant changes in the conductivity and the over potential of the electrode which enhances the measured change in potential. The polymer potential is highly dependant on the presence of redox couples with high charge transfer rates e.g. HRP reaction.

The result is that we can taylor our biological assays to give us large dynamic ranges over ~ a 200mV range in signal. Alternatively we can taylor it to act as a switch i.e. zero change to maximum full scale deflection at certain narrow concentration ranges.

The polypyrrole is grown electrochemically in a similar manner to the electroplating is done for example in the electronics industry for gold plating connections etc. The robustness and sensitivity etc were elucidated by empirical investigation since electrochemically there is very little significant difference between a layer that works in our system and one that doesn't.