Polymer brushes for immobilizing molecules to a surface and having water-soluble or water-dispersible segments therein and probes bonded thereto

US6833276B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Symyx Technologies, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Gerrit Klaerner · Los Gatos, US
• Ralph B. Nielsen · San Jose, US
• Paul Mansky · San Francisco, US
• Didier Benoit · San Jose, US
• Dominique Charmot · Campbell, US
• Bernd Jandeleit · Menlo Park, US
• Laura Mazzola · Redwood City, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 24, 2001
• Grant date: Dec 21, 2004
• Expiry date: Aug 30, 2021

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10T436/10
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Sensors for determining the presence and concentration of bio-molecules in a biological sample are provided in the form of polymer brushes, which comprise a substrate having a surface that is modified with a water-dispersible or water-soluble polymer segment having functional groups that bind probes. The method of synthesis of such sensors preferably includes use of controlled free radical polymerization techniques, and in particular the use of an iniferter initiator, which allows for controlled architecture polymers to modify the surface of the substrate. In this manner functional groups in the polymer chain are removed from the surface, which allows for solution chemistry to be more realistically reproduced with the benefits of a solid bound probe.