METHOD OF QUICKLY DETECTING AND/OR ASSAYING ANTIGEN BY FLUORESCENCE CORRELATION SPECTROMETRY

• Main Authors: FUJII, FUMIHIKO, TAMURA, MAMORU, SAKATA, HIROSHI, KINJO, MASATAKA, UENO, MASAYOSHI, HORIUCHI, MOTOHIRO, YANAGIYA, TAKAYUKI
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 28.03.2007
• Subjects: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MEASURING; PHYSICS; TESTING

The present invention is to provide a method of quickly dectecting and/or assaying an antigen such as an antigenic protein, whereby, for example, an abnormal prion or a harmful protein contained in a food material can be detected and/or assayed quickly and accurately by a simple procedure. In the detection and assay of an antigen molecule using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), the use of a fluorescence-labeled antibody fragment and a non-fluorescence-labeled intact antibody capable of binding to the fluorescence-labeled antibody fragment via an antigen allows a significant difference in diffusion rate to arise between the fluorescence-labeled antibody fragment not bonded to the antigen and a complex formed by the antigen/antibody reaction among the fluorescence-labeled antibody fragment, the antigen, and the non-fluorescence-labeled intact antibody. According to this method, an antigen can be detected and assayed by using FCS, even in the case of an antigen with a relatively low molecular weight such as an antigenic protein, independently from the shape or molecular weight of the antigen, and thus antigens over a wide scope can be assayed quickly.