Antibody screening and characterization

Micro-SCY™

Introducing micro-SCY™: a novel way of antibody-antigen interaction screening

Micro-SCY™ is an innovative method for microarray-based characterization of antibody-antigen interactions, enabling systematic interaction screening in a highly biochemically relevant environment. The technology was developed in-house by Future Diagnostics’ assay development experts. Future Diagnostics is currently offering micro-SCY™ as a service to IVD and biopharma companies, as well as antibody developers, producers and suppliers. 

The benefits of using micro-SCY™ for antibody-antigen interaction screening

Micro-SCY™ enables high-throughput, parallel screening of antibodies and antibody pairs in ultra-low volumes, providing highly translatable data that closely reflects real immunoassay conditions. The platform is fully customizable and delivers a broad range of performance insights, including sensitivity, specificity, binding kinetics, dynamic range, matrix compatibility, and lot-to-lot variation.

Micro-SCY™ applications

The platform is used for antibody and pair screening, clone selection, biomarker assay development, cohort screening for clinically relevant variants, lot-to-lot comparison, production optimization, and performance benchmarking against competitor antibodies.

Bio-layer interferometry (BLI)

We use the Bio-layer interferometry technology Octet (Sartorius) as a versatile and powerful tool for assessing the binding kinetics, specificity, and sensitivity  of antibody-antigen interactions. 

The Octet R8 contains eight spectrophotometers, allowing up to eight samples to be read simultaneously. This instrument includes glass biosensors, the size of a 10 µL pipette tip, coated with a biological component. Depending on the application and desired outcome, the most suitable biosensor can be selected. The Octet is based on Biolayer Interferometry (BLI) which is a dip-and-read system in which the biosensors are moved between different positions in a 96-well plate. BLI is used for label-free, real-time analysis of biomolecular interactions. During measurement, bio-layer interferometry (BLI) detects the interactions occurring on the biosensors. It is an optical analytical technique that analyzes the interference pattern of white light reflected from two surfaces.  

The Octet R8 system is equipped with eight spectrophotometers, enabling simultaneous analysis of up to eight samples. The instrument utilizes glass biosensors each approximately the size of a 10 µL pipette tip coated with a specific biological component. Depending on the application and experimental goals, different biosensor types can be selected for optimal performance. 

The Octet operates on the principle of Biolayer Interferometry (BLI), a label-free, real-time analytical technique used to study biomolecular interactions. In this dip-and-read system, biosensors are sequentially transferred between wells of a 96-well plate. BLI measures changes in the interference pattern of white light reflected from two surfaces within the biosensor, allowing precise detection and quantification of binding events occurring on its surface. 

During an experiment, the biosensors of the Octet are illuminated with white light. The reflection of this light from the biosensors immersed in buffer serves as a reference signal (blue). When molecules such as immobilized proteins bind to the biosensor surface, the optical properties change, causing a measurable shift in the interference pattern (orange). This shift, represented as a change in wavelength (Δλ), is directly proportional to the number of bound molecules. Because Biolayer Interferometry (BLI) measures these changes in real time, it enables precise determination of key kinetic parameters, including association, dissociation, affinity, and concentration. The resulting data are displayed as a binding curve, plotting the wavelength shift against time.