Innova Biosciences InnovaCoat GOLD nanoparticle conjugation kits

The in-vitro diagnostic market requires antibodies to be linked to nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles are attractive for the development of reagents for lateral flow assays because of their intense ruby red colour. The production of gold nanoparticle antibody conjugates is challenging because of instability, and numerous parameters need to be optimised. Multiple batches are usually made on each project, which adds cost and slows the development of assays.

InnovaCoat GOLD products are ‘conjugation friendly’ nanoparticles with a surface coat that enhances gold stability and permits easy covalent attachment of a variety of molecules, including antibodies, analytes and other biomolecules. The conjugation reaction is initiated simply by adding a solution of antibody to the freeze-dried powder; the hands-on time is 2 min and the conjugate is ready to use within 15 min.

As well as avoiding the optimisation steps, InnovaCoat GOLD conjugates are said to demonstrate enhanced sensitivity when compared to traditional passive conjugation methods. In the case of immuno-gold conjugates, the antibody can be attached irreversibly without the need for extensive trials at different values of pH and/or salt concentration.

The conjugation kits are available with 10, 20, 40, 60 and 80 nm gold nanoparticles (all with 20 OD). The conjugates can be used in a variety of assays, including lateral flow tests.