A concept of image sensor for enzymatic activity

This presentation describes an approach towards an enzyme chip, which measures proteolytic activities by the combination of an array of peptide substrates on a solid surface and a high performance image sensor. A number of peptides, which cover the specificities of various proteases in blood, are designed and prepared by chemical synthesis. They are arrayed on a solid surface with micro-channels which drive the test sample solution to the reaction spots. At the linkage between each peptide and the solid surface a fluorescence label is inserted. The reaction of proteases leads to changes in fluorescence intensity at the spots due to their different substrate specificities. The increase in fluorescence intensity is recorded and processed by the image sensor to measure the reaction velocity at each spot. The patterns made of a number of spots are examined and analyzed to detect special physiological aspects of diseases. The enzyme chip is aiming to contribute to the personal healthcare in future.