Catch the Play-by-Play of Biomolecular Interactions
What does an edge-of-your-seat tennis match have to do with the market leader in label-free biomolecular interaction analysis? Find out in our latest blog.
This article is posted on our Science Snippets Blog
In 2018 Japan’s 20-year-old Naomi Osaka made history by defeating her childhood idol and decorated American tennis player, Serena Williams, at the US Open tournament.
The final score was 6-2, 6-4.
But the final score doesn’t tell the whole story. You had to watch the entire match to witness all the drama that unfolded in the second half: a controversial penalty call, a smashed racket, and a booing crowd.
The biology that’s happening right now inside each of our cells is infinitely more dynamic than any championship game, but so much of this vital information is lost by using analytical assays that only report the final score in end-point measurements.
The Grand Arena
Interactions between biomolecules trigger many biological processes. Studying the nature and binding kinetics of these interactions is a critical part of understanding how the body functions in both health and disease. This insight is especially vital to drug companies that target these interactions with small molecule or antibody therapeutics.
During discovery and development, the binding profile and kinetics of a vaccine target, for example, can provide critical insight on its structure and function. Monitoring this information is important in quality control, all the way from early biologics design to optimization and manufacturing.
Whole Match vs. Final Score
Research scientists use a variety of methods to analyze biomolecular interactions. A common method for measuring binding is solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which provides end-point verification of binding. However, end-point assays, like ELISA, provide limited data on biomolecular binding characteristics and often miss very weak or transient interactions due to the required washing steps.
Bio-layer interferometry (BLI) is a label-free biosensor technology that captures the detailed mechanism of action in real-time; the play-by-play if you will. BLI delivers the complete picture of how quickly a protein engages its target and how long it stays engaged (on and off rates of the binding interaction).
A Tight Match
Off-rate ranking of antibodies is one scenario where real-time analysis matters. Kinetic analysis of antibody-antigen interaction is a crucial step in selecting high-affinity monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for therapeutic applications. Traditionally, antibody ranking has been performed by ELISA; but this makes it difficult to distinguish the poor-expressing, strong binders, from the high-expressing, weak binders.
This is where BLI technology with real-time analysis has an edge.
It supports screening and ranking your hybridoma supernatants based on off-rate. This measurement is not dependent on concentration and is a better reporter of antibody binding kinetics.
BLI Takes the Lead
Unlike traditional end-point methods that rely on expensive labeling schemes, BLI is label-free. That means it’s much faster to set up and avoids the risk of functional interference from the label itself. Collecting data that’s more physiologically relevant is always better!
The Octet® BLI platform is also a real star when it comes to scalable throughput. The unbeatable throughput with a processing capacity of up to 96 samples in parallel make it an attractive option for high-throughput, multiparameter industry applications.
We Have a Winner
The Octet® systems are a commonplace in many labs nowadays because the technology is faster, easier to use and gives you more data compared to other approaches. These instruments are used routinely to measure binding specificity, concentration of active analyte, affinity, and kinetics with a wide range of biomolecules.
Sometimes, just the final score will do; but for high-throughput applications where real-time insight matters, the Octet® systems are clear winners.
If you enjoyed this post, then please share it with your friends and colleagues. Our next post The Swiss Army Knife of Ligand Binding Assays explores the multi-application capabilities of the Octet® BLI platform.