🚀 go-pugleaf

Forgive my bio-ignorance; I am a physicist :-)

I am interested in using immobilized antibodies to collect detectable
numbers of small molecules near a sensing element (e.g., a optical
fiber). My understanding is that antibodies, being proteins, consist
of polymeric chains of amino acids. Some amino acids (tryptophan and
tyrosine) are fluorescent.

If a small molecule is confined to the binding pocket of an antibody,
it seems that one could, in some circumstances, detect the presence or
absence of the small molecule by monitoring changes in the fluorescence
properties of nearby tryptophans and tyrosines. 

In summary, I seek to determine whether it is possible/feasible to
detect material bound to antibodies by monitoring the fluorescence of
the antibodies themselves. Any pointers to references would be
appreciated. Most of the papers I've seen seek to detect the
fluorescence of the bound material, not of the antibody.

Ed Stokes
ebstokes@crd.ge.com