Analyst Blog

Surface chemistry and the non-specific binding problem in biosensor technology

A one day workshop sponsored by the Applied Materials Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry

May 9^th, 2011 (9.00 AM – 5.30 PM)
Burlington House, Royal Society of Chemistry, London, UK

The purpose of this symposium is to discuss surface coatings that can be used to address the issue of non-specific binding in biosensors. The symposium will be of interest to both academics and industrialists. While a number of international conferences are dedicated to biosensors, non-specific binding is only dealt with in an ad hoc manner. Considering that this phenomenon will ultimately dictate whether a biosensor can be commercialized or not, it is clear that this symposium dedicated to the subject is both timely and warranted. The symposium will be of interest to any researcher working in the fields of drug discovery, clinical diagnostics and environmental analysis, including homeland security and defence sectors.

Scheduled speakers:
M. Thompson and Christophe Blaszykowski, University of Toronto
Lisa Hall, University of Cambridge
H. Schnerr, TTP LabTech Ltd, Melbourn
J-F. Masson, University of Montreal
S. Reddy, University of Surrey
S. Brewer, DSTL, Porton Down

Registration fee:
75 pounds for academic delegates
100 pounds for industry delegates
Fee includes a lunch and all proceedings
Please contact Ms Wendy King (DSTL, UK) for registration form and payment

Please refer to the RSC Events pages for details on how to register and contact the organisers.

Last week I attended a US-China Workshop at Purdue University, US, which brought together some of the brightest minds in analytical science from these two countries, to exchange ideas and provide suggestions for the development of  the subject.

Topics for discussion included how the community can help to raise the profile of publications in analytical science, research trends, infrastructure and instrumentation and the status of analytical post-graduate education.

A major theme was collaboration, and it was recognised that enabling US scientisits to visit and work in China, and vice versa, is incredibly important. There are a huge number of Chinese students looking to carry out post-graduate study in the US and Europe, however this is currently a one-way street.

To support closer ties, it was also recognised that not all the high profile journals have Chinese representation on their Editorial and Advisory Boards. Whilst this an area where the RSC is very proactive (and will aim to continue strengthening our links),  it is hoped that other publishers will also follow suit. This year, Analyst has seen significant growth in the number of papers coming from China. As well as the growth in the subject, is also partly due to the appointment of Professor Xinrong Zhang at Tsinghua University, Beijing as Associate Editor for Asia.

One thing is clear, whilst there is concern that analytical chemistry doesn’t always get the billing it deserves in  the US, this is certainly not the case in China. The growth in investment in analytical departments in China has been exponential over the past few years, and this is something that we are certainly beginning to see reflected in the quantity, and quality, of the  research being done.

With open and informative workshops such as these, it will be fascinating to follow the outcomes and developments of this collaboration. However a big first step has been taken, recognising that by working together, the worlds two superpowers of analytical science can really ensure the future of the subject continues to be exciting.

Read the Analyst themed issue on ‘Highlighting analytical science in China’.

The Analytical Research Forum was held at Loughborough University this year. We were in excellent company, as we were sharing the campus with many young teams from numerous sports on training camps, and in particular the World Rope-Skipping Championships! 

The keynote speakers included Gary Eiceman from New Mexico State University, US who gave a fascinating talk on the possibilites of ion-mobilty mass spectrometry, and some thoughts on what the future holds for this technique. Read one of recent articles in Analyst.

Ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) became a bit of theme with further discussion from Perdita Barran on the use of nano-electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry and IM-MS for examining biological systems in the gas phase.

Perdita was also presented with the 2009 Joseph Black award for her developments in the field of mass spectrometry, especially ion-mobility techniques, and the application of these techniques to biological macromolecules and their gas phase interactions.

Look out for the Emerging Investigators Issue in Analyst early next year, which Perdita is co-Guest Editing with Christy Haynes.

Fingerprinting and forensics was another popular theme of the conference, with a very impressive keynote from David Russell from the University of East Anglia. He updated delegates on the methods his group have developed to detect drugs and metabolites on fingerprints. The  method of combining magnetic microparticles or gold nanoparticles with antibodies is so powerful, you can expect to see this approach in use in the near future – drug-drivers beware! Read his article on these methods in Analyst.

Analytical Methods Editor-in-Chief, Brett Paull gave the final keynote talk on the Wednesday morning, on the topic of monolithic materials for separation science. 

Other talks which were also impressive included “Ion mobility-mass spectrometry of 3-D supramolecular architectures” by Martin De Cecco from the University of Edinburgh and “Spatially standardized cell biology” by Jonathan West from ISAS, Dortmund, Germany.

The social and networking side of ARF is however just as important as the science, and there were plenty of opportunities for this too. The quiz held in the bar on the Monday night required a combination of largely musical knowledge with a small amount of chemistry! This was most abely won by Perdita Barran’s group from the University of Edinburgh. The conference dinner was also traditionally held on the Tuesday evening.

The need in healthcare to detect biomolecular species such as proteins, oligonucleotides (DNA and RNA) and cells for diagnostics is driving the current development of physical techniques.

Themes of this meeting include:
Systems/Devices to Inform Therapy (SDIT) 
Physical Techniques for Diagnostics (PTD)
High-Throughput Measurement and Analysis (HTMA)
Towards Real-time Clinical Measurement (TRCM)

This meeting is being held at the University of Edinburgh from 6-8 September, 2010.

Registration deadline 6th August

For further information about about this meeting and to register, please visit the website.

Faraday Discussion 149 is organised by the Faraday Division in association with the Analytical Division.

The 2010 GRC on Bioanalytical Sensors took place 20-25 June in the green setting of Colby-Sawyer College, New Hampshire, USA.  Talks by leading researchers set the tone for five days of high-quality, cutting edge and interdisciplinary science presented in a format that drove discussion in a hugely positive way.  You can see the latest work in this field via the Analyst homepage.

Co-Chairs Antje Baeumner and Weihong Tan

Co-Chairs Anjte Baeumner of Cornell University and Weihong Tan of the University of Florida had put together a packed programme which covered topics such as nanotechnology, point-of-care applications, commercialisation and microfluidics.  The unique structure of GRC meetings gives research communities the chance to engage in person, and this opportunity was exploited to the full here.  Debate was free-flowing between the internationally diverse delegates, with conversations often continuing into break and meal times.

It wasn’t all intense work, though.  Vice-Chair of the meeting was Analyst US Associate Editor, Steve Soper, who arranged a social programme that was almost as busy as the scientific one.  From golf to hiking, volleyball to historical visits, there was plenty to do in the free afternoons.  And with Analyst sponsoring the evening refreshments, there was no excuse for an early night!

I was very impressed by my first experience of a Gordon Research Conference.  The talks and posters presented showcased some of the most exciting developments in the broad field of bioanalytical sensing, but more importantly there was a sense of community amongst those attending.  This atmosphere nurtured the sort of personal interaction that can only lead to more exciting science in the future.

– Vibhuti Patel, Deputy Editor