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Protein aggregation analysis, from self-interaction to active concentration

Knowing how much protein has aggregated is only part of the picture. Measure whether the remaining material is functional, how it self associates, and how much active protein remains.
Up to 768 samples on the inQuiQ768
Affinity range from 10 pM to 10 mM
From 30 µL of sample per injection

Where aggregation and stability work needs a binding readout

Label-free interaction analysis measures real-time binding of molecules. It adds a functional readout next to size and particle methods, covering how much protein still binds and how strongly a molecule associates with itself.

Developability screening

Rank candidates on how strongly they associate with themselves.

Self-interaction data sits next to SEC and DLS in an early panel.

self-interaction

Formulation and buffer screening

Find the conditions that keep protein binding-competent.

Compare binding activity across buffers, alongside nanoDSF thermal data.

colloidal stability

Stability and stressed samples

Measure what still binds after applied stress.

Stress the material offline, then read activity at controlled analysis temperature.

stress testing

Immunogenicity and ADA

Characterise the antibody response to a biotherapeutic.

Kinetic ADA characterisation next to a bridging ELISA titer.

anti-drug antibody

Amyloid and fibril research

Follow elongation on immobilised seeds in real time.

Binding kinetics next to ThT fluorescence and electron microscopy.

amyloid fibrils

Benefits of the inQuiQ in aggregation and stability work

01 / 04

One injection, four channels, sixteen sensors

Four addressable flow channels, four sensors each, with the sample passing through them in series.

30 µL minimumsequential flow paths
In-flow immobilisation
Spotter immobilisation

Put the molecule on the sensor and inject the same molecule

Self-association shows up as binding response, which ranks candidates on aggregation propensity before formulation work begins.

self-interactiondevelopability
same molecule, both sides

Watch monomer add to an immobilised fibril seed

Amyloid-beta seeds are held on the sensor and monomer is injected over them, with the response recorded through the whole injection.

amyloid-betaseeded elongation
seed on surface, monomer in flow

Run a panel of candidates without touching it

The inQuiQ768 autosampler takes 2×96 or 2×384 well plates and injects one sample after another, so every candidate meets the same surface.

2×96 wells2×384 wells
one plate, sequential injections

How an aggregate detection run works

Every sample follows the same five steps. A conformation-selective antibody is held on the sensor, the sample flows past, and the response is recorded through the whole injection. Assembled material binds; monomer does not.

Ligand immobilisation

A conformation-selective capture antibody is coupled to the sensor surface.

It recognises an epitope that only exists once subunits assemble. For amyloid-β that means oligomer and protofibril are captured while monomer is not.

  • conformation-selective
  • amine coupling
  • assembled epitope

Deactivation

Unused activated sites are switched off before the first sample arrives.

Excipients, surfactant and carrier protein reach the surface with every injection. Deactivation, together with the antifouling hydrogel, keeps them out of the sensorgram.

  • deactivation
  • non-specific binding
  • reference channel

Association

The sample is injected. Aggregate binds, monomer flows straight past.

Each aggregate is caught across several arms at once, so the surface loads quickly. The plateau reads assembled content rather than total protein.

  • aggregate content
  • multivalent capture
  • label-free

Dissociation

Buffer replaces the sample and the response barely moves.

A multivalent complex has a very slow koff, so the captured material stays bound and only a small fraction releases. The signal that holds is what gets read across a stress timepoint series.

  • slow koff
  • complex stability
  • stress timepoints

Regeneration

A regeneration buffer returns the sensor to baseline for the next sample.

Buffer alone will not clear an avidity-locked complex, so the surface is stripped deliberately. Every timepoint and every formulation then meets the same antibody layer.

  • regeneration
  • same surface
  • unattended runs
Response (RU) Time

What the inQuiQ does for aggregation and stability work

Six capabilities, one modular benchtop instrument, in a label-free workflow.

Self-interaction, measured directly

Immobilise the candidate and inject the same molecule. Weak self-association shows up as binding response, which ranks candidates on aggregation propensity.

self-interaction developability

Active concentration, not total mass

A standard curve of the reference material turns binding response into the concentration of protein that still engages its target.

standard curve

Clean signal from serum and formulation buffers

The antifouling hydrogel limits binding by matrix and excipient components, with samples clarified through 0.22 µm before injection.

0.22 µm filter

Orthogonal to size and particle methods

SEC, AUC, mass photometry, and light obscuration report how much aggregate is present. Binding data reports whether the rest still works.

orthogonal characterisation potency arm

The same kinetic method at every stage

kon, koff, and KD are measured the same way in developability, formulation, and stability studies, so the numbers compare across the workflow.

kon, koff, KD

Unattended runs on the inQuiQ768

The autosampler takes 2×96 or 2×384 well plates and works through candidate panels one injection after another.

2×96 wells 2×384 wells
Explore the inQuiQ768
Start A conversation

Talk to an application scientist

Bring your process step. We will tell you honestly whether label-free is the right method for it, and how the assay would be built.

Ready to see the inQuiQ in action?

Questions researchers ask

Label-free binding analysis does not size or count aggregates. SEC, DLS, AUC, and light obscuration do that. What a binding measurement adds is the other half of the question, namely how much of the material still engages its target and how strongly the molecule associates with itself. The two run alongside each other rather than one replacing the other.

Rank candidates on self-interaction and on retained target binding. A molecule that associates strongly with itself carries a higher aggregation and viscosity risk later in development, and a candidate that loses target binding under a formulation condition is telling you something a size profile will not.

Immobilise the molecule on the sensor and inject the same molecule as a concentration series. The response reflects how readily the protein binds to itself, which ranks candidates on aggregation propensity under a defined buffer condition.

It reports a change in binding behaviour rather than the presence of aggregate. Biphasic dissociation, poor fits to a 1:1 model, and a drifting maximum response all have several possible causes, including mass transport, surface heterogeneity, and ligand inactivation. Assign the cause with an orthogonal size method, then use the binding data to say whether the remaining material still works.

Apply the stress offline, then inject the stressed material and the unstressed reference against the same capture surface. The instrument controls the analysis temperature, so the comparison is made under one set of conditions and differences in active concentration or in kon and koff can be attributed to the applied stress.

Capture the therapeutic on the sensor and inject patient or animal serum. The response gives a kinetic profile of the anti-drug antibody response, with kon, koff, and KD alongside the titer a bridging ELISA reports.