Sensitivity
Even subtle binding is visible
Fragments, low affinity hits and low abundance targets produce signal instead of noise. Baseline noise sits typically below 0.1 RU RMS.
How label-free biosensing works on a photonic chip
Nanophotonic evanescent field sensing (NES) reads binding similarly to surface plasmon resonance (SPR), through an evanescent field at the sensor surface. NES advances these principles using photonic integrated circuits on a silicon chip, enabling sensitive multiplex biosensing at lower cost of ownership.
Five steps, one beam of light
Label-free means nothing is stained, tagged, or amplified. The molecule's own mass is the signal, and binding is recorded while it happens.
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At the right wavelength, the light resonates inside the ring, circulating many times and passing the same sensing area over and over.
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That tail defines the sensing area. Only molecules within the evanescent field influence the optical signal.
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Refractive index describes how light interacts with a material. Even small changes affects the optical signal.
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Larger shifts indicate more bound material on the sensor surface.
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Fitting both phases returns kon, koff and KD from a single run.
n₁ > n₂ - light circulates in the ring
What NES brings to label-free biosensing
Guiding light through a chip instead of reflecting it off a gold film or a dip-sensor changes what a label-free instrument can do, and what it costs to run.
Multiplexing
Many targets from one sample
Read many targets from one injection. The chip has 4 channels for in-flow immobilisation, and 16 sensors that can be immobilised with a spotter.
compact system
A benchtop instrument
The instruments footprint is only 30 by 40 cm, so you don't need a core facility to fit the inQuiQ label-free biosensor in your lab.
low cost
Lower cost through photonic architecture
The inQuiQ places complex optical assemblies in the photonic chip. This enables sensitive measurements below 0.1 RU RMS at lower cost.
NES compared to SPR, BLI and ITC
Four label-free methods answer binding questions in different ways. How each one generates its signal shows up directly in sensitivity, throughput and cost.
The bands are qualitative and describe typical instruments in each category, not one product. Platforms within a category vary.
NES offers the strongest multiplexing and affordability in this comparison, while providing strong sensitivity and compatibility with complex matrices.
No method leads everywhere. BLI runs more samples per shift and handles crude material without microfluidics. ITC measures binding heat directly in solution, which no surface method does.
One label-free analysis platform for all your binding questions
Engineered Antibodies
Affinity, kinetics, and epitope binning for clone ranking.
Engineered antibodies
Small molecules
& Peptides
Reliable fragment screening and small molecule binding affinity, label-free.
Small molecules and peptides
Molecular Glues
& PROTACs
Protein degraders ternary complex kinetics and molecular glue screening.
Molecular glues and PROTACs
Complex Biological Matrices
Binding analysis in serum, plasma, and crude samples.
Complex biological matrices
Membrane proteins
GPCR ligand binding, lipid bilayer sensors, and construct comparison.
Membrane proteins
Aggregated Proteins
Characterisation of aggregated proteins and protein self-association.
Aggregated proteins
Nucleic acids
Aptamer binding affinity, hybridisation kinetics, and sequence specificity.
Nucleic acids
Questions about your application?
Tell us what you're measuring and we'll tell you whether the inQuiQ fits.
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Still have questions about NES?
Send it to an application scientist. You get an answer about your assay, and if the inQuiQ fits your workflow.
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Ask for a demo instead
A demo tailored to your assay and your targets, so you will get a clear picture if the inQuiQ is the right instrument to fill the gaps in your workflow.
Download the inQuiQ brochure
Sensitivity, channel layout, footprint, and consumable formats in a couple pages.
Delta Life Science
request@deltalifescience.nl
Send us an email, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
request@deltalifescience.nl
Send us an email, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Questions researchers ask
NES is a label-free biosensing technology that measures binding as a refractive index change at a sensor surface, a similar physical principle used by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and grating-coupled interferometry (GCI). The sensing element is a photonic integrated circuit rather than a gold film. It returns affinity (KD) and kinetics (kon, koff) in real time, in a benchtop-sizes instrument with a sensitivity (baseline noise) of 0.1 RU RMS.
Label-free platforms fall into three groups. SPR systems (Cytiva Biacore, Bruker Sierra SPR, Carterra LSA) read a gold film through a prism. BLI systems (Sartorius Octet, Gator Bio) read a dip sensor moved between wells. Our photonic chip systems read light in a waveguide, which is how the inQuiQ from Delta Life Science fits 16 high sensitivity sensors on one chip in a benchtop instrument.
All three detect binding without labels. SPR reads a gold film lit through a prism and needs optical alignment and roughly an hour to stabilise. BLI reads a dip sensor moved between wells, which makes it good for complex matrices, but less sensitive with fragments and small molecules. NES uses highly sensitive waveguide sensors etched into a silicon chip, so the inQuiQ has no optics to stabilise every time and is ready within an hour after switch-on.
The inQuiQ covers the same core measurements: KD, kon, koff, specificity, epitope binning and active concentration, across affinities from 10 pM to 10 mM. What changes is access. NES enables an affordable instrument with a sensitivity of up to 0.01 RU RMS, running serum and lysate directly after a 0.22 µm filter, sensors regenerate for reuse, and the instrument sits on your own bench.
ELISA returns an endpoint, meaning how much analyte is present after washing and detection. Label-free methods like Nanophotonic Evanescent field Sensing record binding as it happens, so one run gives association rate, dissociation rate and affinity. No label sits on either partner, and the inQuiQ reads unpurified samples without a coating, blocking or detection step.
Every run with the inQuiQ returns a sensorgram: association while sample flows over the surface, dissociation while buffer flows. Fitting both phases gives kon, koff and KD. The inQuiQ covers 10 pM to 10 mM, association rates from 10¹ to 10⁷ M⁻¹s⁻¹, dissociation rates from 1 to 10⁻⁶ s⁻¹, with baseline noise below 0.1 RU RMS for sensitivity sensors, down to 0.03 RU RMS for high sensitivity sensors.