Raman spectroscopic method for determining the ligand binding capacity of biologicals

Abstract

A nondestructive process for determining the reactive capacity of a test biological by Raman scattering. The test biological may be any one of enzymes, enzyme cofactors, coenzymes, antibodies, antibody fragments, hemeproteins, peptides, synthetic peptides, toxins, toxoids, glycosphingolipids, lectins, lipids, lipid complexes, phospholipids, carbohydrates, saccharides, gangliosides, nucleic acids, fragments of nucleic acids, pathogen adhesion factors, receptors, receptor subunits, membranes, organelles, cells, tissues and complexes containing membranes, organelles, cells and tissues, or a bioconcentrator. The test biological is irradiated with a light source to produce a Raman scattering spectrum of the irradiated biological. The Raman scattering spectrum is collected and processed to determine the ability of the test biological to react with ligands. The analyzing step includes comparing the Raman scattering spectrum of the test biological against that of a biological standard of the same biological which has been altered to vary the capability to react with ligands thereby determining the capacity of the test biological to react with ligands.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.