SCANNING KELVIN MICROPROBE SYSTEM AND PROCESS FOR BIOMOLECULE MICROASSAY

摘要

There is provided a system and process for detecting biomolecular interactio n on a substrate having a biomolecule immobilized on a surface of the substrat e. The system and process incorporate a scanning Kelvin microprobe (SKM) capabl e of analyzing surface topography as well as a contact potential difference image signal. Also provided is the use of SKM in measuring and analyzing biochemical molecular interactions between a probe bound to the surface of t he substrate, and a target suspected to be present in a liquid sample. One of t he probe and target combination is a biomolecule such as a nucleic acid, a polypeptide, or a small molecule, and an antibody antigen combination may be used.