Silicone surfactants for emulsion assays
AssigneeBio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.
InventorsErin R. Chia, Amy L. Hiddessen, Benjamin J. Hindson, Adam Lowe, Chunxiao Han
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Abstract
System, including methods and compositions, for making and using emulsions that include a silicone oil and a silicone surfactant. The emulsions may include aqueous droplets disposed in a continuous phase that includes a silicone oil and a silicone surfactant. The aqueous droplets may contain an analyte, optionally at partial occupancy, and/or a luminescent (e.g., photoluminescent) reporter. An assay of the analyte may be performed with the droplets. In some cases, signals may be detected from the droplets, and a characteristic of the analyte, such as an analyte level or activity, may be determined based on the signals.
Claims20
A silicone surfactant having the formula:
- [SILICONE BACKBONE][ALKYL]x[POLYETHER]y[POLYSILOXANE]z
- where x is 0-5, y is 1-35, and z is 2-50.
A composition comprising at least one silicone surfactant having the formula
- [SILICONE BACKBONE][ALKYL]g[POLYETHER]h[POLYSILOXANE]i
- where g is 0-5, h is 1-35, and j is 2-50;
- SILICONE BACKBONE has the formula
- wherein a is 50-500, and each R moiety is independently hydrogen or an alkyl having 1-6 carbons;
- ALKYL is an alkyl moiety having 8-14 carbons;
- POLYETHER is an organic polyether side chain;
- and
- POLYSILOXANE is an inorganic polysiloxane moiety.
A method of performing an assay, comprising:
- (A) forming an emulsion including aqueous droplets disposed in a continuous phase that includes a silicone oil and at least one silicone surfactant according to the formula
- [SILICONE BACKBONE][ALKYL]g[POLYETHER]h[POLYSILOXANE]i
- where g is 0-5, h is 1-35, and j is 2-50;
- SILICONE BACKBONE has the formula
- wherein a is 50-500, and each R moiety is independently hydrogen or an alkyl having 1-6 carbons;
- ALKYL is an alkyl moiety having 8-14 carbons;
- POLYETHER is an organic polyether side chain;
- and
- POLYSILOXANE is an inorganic polysiloxane moiety;
- and
- (B) collecting data related to an analyte disposed in the aqueous droplets.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.