Regeneration of Immunologically-Active Surfaces

Abstract : Ligand-Receptor binding is important to the development of biosensors for CBW defense. In the case of antigen (Ag)-antibody (Ab) binding, the binding constant is often so high that the response time of a continuous sensor is very long. It is desirable to regulate or control the binding constant in order to optimize the response time and sensitivity of an immunosensor. Two methodes were studied: 1) Use of a thermal pulse at the interface to raise the interfacial temperature, which for many Ag-Ab systems--results in decreased binding. 2) Direct modifications of IgG antibody with a photo isomerizable compound, to enable binding constant modulation under external optical control. The role of immobilization of Ab on its Ag binding properties was also studied.