Patent ID: 9683920
Date: 2017-06-20
CPC Classifications: G01N,Y10T

Claim:
1. A method of determining whether a putative therapeutic agent binds to, and forms a complex with, a receptor on a biological particle of interest, comprising: a) obtaining a spectra showing particle size and distribution for a sample medium which includes a biological particle of interest with a receptor to which a putative therapeutic agent will bind, by passing the sample medium past a focused light beam formed by passing a collimated light beam through an acceptance aperture to narrow the width of the beam, using focused light scattering techniques to prepare a spectrum showing particle size distribution from within the sample medium, where particle size is reflected by the location of one or more peaks on the spectrum, and the number of particles is reflected by the area under the curve of the peak, b) incubating the sample medium with a putative therapeutic agent, c) obtaining a second spectra showing particle size and distribution on the incubated sample medium using focused light scattering techniques, and d) determining whether the particle size and distribution has been altered by the incubation of the putative therapeutic agent, wherein a change in the particle size and/or distribution is indicative of a complex formed of the putative therapeutic agent and the biological particle, wherein said focused light scattering techniques involve sensing single particles suspended in a sample medium when the sample medium is passed through a focused beam of light, such that, when the focused beam of light passes through the sample medium without being scattered by a particle, the beam passes on to a photodetector and the intensity is measured, wherein the focused beam is of a size such that a particle in the size range of 0.1 to 10 μm is sufficient to block all of the beam, or a significant enough part of the beam, so that the particle size can be measured, and when the beam is scattered, in whole or in part, by a particle, the intensity of the beam hitting the photodetector is altered, and the particle size and/or concentration are calculated using light-extinction, light-scattering detection, or both.