High-potential platform molecules

Particles can be analysed in microfluidic systems, providing a high throughput platform, which can be integrated into low-cost devices for biochemical research and point-of-care medical diagnostic applications [9,10]. Potentially particles could be directed post analysis into different reaction vessels, for split-and-mix synthesis where molecules such as a peptides or oligonucleotides are progressively and combina-torially synthesized on the beads [11]. 

For all of these targets the versatility of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) qualifies this method as an almost universal detection platform, using the highly specific recognition potential of antibodies in conjugation with a detection enzyme and various signal-generating substrates [8, 9]. In contrast to the enormous amplification power of the PCR, these enzymatic methods normally have a detection limit of several millions of molecules. 

Therapeutic antibodies, especially the latest generation platforms (humanized and fully human), have a potentially superior specificity due, for example, to the high number of variants in the selection process (more than 10 °) that cannot be matched by small-molecule libraries that show diversities in the range of 10 (see also Part V, Chapter 2). This often leads to better side-effect profiles shown in the better overall clinical survival rates, especially for humanized and fully human antibodies (e.g. [23]) (see also Part IV, Chapter 3). In addition, monoclonal antibodies have specific capabilities that are entirely unique (e.g., activation of immune response). 

We now have a new class of biosensors, aptasensors, which use aptamers as highly selective recognition elements. As receptor molecules, aptamers allow widespread applicability to a diverse array of target analytes due to their analyte-impartial synthetic generation process. Aptasensors realized on micro- and nanoscale platforms afford many potential advantages, such as miniaturized construction rapid, sensitive, and specific detection high throughput reduced... 

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