Patent ID: 8358123
Filing Date: 2013-01-22
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. Method of quantifying an analyte in a liquid medium, comprising the steps of: placing magnetic particles in a liquid medium, wherein the magnetic particles have been functionalized by specific ligands of the analyte being quantified; causing a magnetic field to act on the liquid medium, thereby enabling adhesion of the magnetic particles and the formation of clusters of magnetic particles, determining the presence and concentration of the analyte from the variation of a parameter, the value of this parameter being measured prior to application of the magnetic field, wherein the method includes repeated cycles of applying the magnetic field to the liquid medium and of measuring the parameter after each application of the magnetic field, and wherein the magnetic field application period during each cycle being shorter than that of the reaction between the analyte being quantified and the ligands of the magnetic particles, calculating, on the basis of the aforesaid measurements, a limiting value for the variation in the parameter for an infinite magnetic field application time, and deducing therefrom the concentration of the analyte in the liquid medium.