Immunoassay diagnostic probe and a method for use thereof

Abstract

A disposable probe, an immunoassay diagnostic device and a method for the quantitative detection of specific biomolecules, being the analyte, in a fluid sample, by any immunoassay procedure based on spectroscopic detection, the disposable probe comprises at least one photodiode having a layer of first immunoreactant molecules attached permanently to its surface, wherein the first immunoreactant binds specifically to the analyte, and the photodiode has electronic connectors for transferring the electronic signal generated in the photodiode, upon exposure to light, to a signal processing unit. The immunoassay diagnostic device comprises a disposable probe, a non-disposable probe-base and means for electronically connecting the probe to the probe-base, and the probe-base comprises means for reading the signal generated by the disposable probe, a signal processing unit and a display unit. The method for the detection of specific biomolecules in a fluid sample, in particular a serum, by using a disposable probe, comprises the steps of any known immunoassay procedure suitable for the detection of the specific biomolecules, the layer attached to the photodiode surface consists of the first immunoreactant of the immunoassay.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.