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.
Claims19
A method of performing an assay, the method comprising:
- (A) forming an emulsion including aqueous droplets dispersed in a continuous phase, the aqueous droplets containing an analyte, the continuous phase including a silicone oil and a silicone surfactant, the silicone surfactant including
- a backbone chain composed of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms,
- a first side chain pendant from a silicon atom of the backbone chain and including a polyether group, and
- a second side chain pendant from a silicon atom of the backbone chain and including a polysiloxane group;
- and
- (B) detecting a signal related to the analyte from the aqueous droplets.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.