Patent ID: 8402828

Claim:
A method of detecting a macromolecular docking event between a first macromolecule of a first type and a second macromolecule of a complementary type, the method comprising: dispersing a plurality of macromolecules of the first type in a microscopic test region within an aqueous test volume, said microscopic test region including a liquid/gas boundary surface; introducing at least one macromolecule of the complementary type into said microscopic test region, said at least one macromolecule of the complementary type docking with at least one of said plurality of macromolecules of the first type within said microscopic test region, said macromolecular docking emitting a micro-acoustic wave into said microscopic test region; detecting, via a micro-acoustic radiation detector, micro-acoustic radiation propagating through said microscopic test region; and via identification logic, identifying, in said detected micro-acoustic radiation, said micro-acoustic wave emitted by said macromolecular docking; wherein the first type is a selected one of a group consisting of an antibody type and an antigen type and the complementary type is the unselected one of said group; and wherein detecting said micro-acoustic radiation via said micro-acoustic radiation detector comprises: focusing a primary laser beam at a grazing angle at said liquid/gas boundary surface, thereby splitting said primary laser beam into a first beam and a second beam; combining said first and second beams into an interference beam; and detecting microscopic high frequency elevation oscillations of said liquid/gas boundary surface according to corresponding oscillations in said interference beam.