A Novel Approach to Label-Free Sensing: Diffractive Optics Technology (dot®)

Label-free detection methods have played a very significant role in drug design and refinement [1]. They have been used primarily during secondary screening and for in-depth characterization of biomolecular interactions. Misconceptions about the accessibility of these platforms, since they often require specialized training, throughput and robustness in complex media have hampered their adoption in the earliest phases of discovery not to mention their significant and unrealized potential in qualifying reagents for high throughput screening or during novel assay development. A new wave of more cost effective, robust and accessible platforms has made significant inroads, demonstrating that significant information can be derived from these methods all along the drug discovery research continuum. One of these recent entrants, the dotLab® System uses diffractive optics technology (dot®) to detect biomolecular interactions and can be used for a wide variety of applications in the study of a broad spectrum of biological analytes including proteins, DNA and even microorganisms.