Applications of Lasers in Bioanalytical Chemistry

Abstract

Lasers have grown from being an exotic device in the research laboratory to become an important part of practical bioanalytical instrumentation. Laser-excited fluorescence offers extremely high sensitivity for the detection of trace components in ultramicro environments. This has led to a new generation of cellular and subcellular probes for the biochemical and the clinical laboratory. Examples of upcoming technologies that are relevant to medicine and biotechnology are presented, including (1) high-speed DNA mapping and sequencing, where the analysis time is decreased by 1000× and where the accuracy is improved substantially; (2) the detection of various intracellullar enzymes in blood cells, providing information about aging and carcinogenesis; (3) the characterization of individual enzyme molecules, showing how protein folding and refolding can lead to different activities among a population of otherwise identical molecules; (4) the measurement of zeptomole quantities of antigens, paving the way for early diagnosis of diseases; and (5) the monitoring of trace impurities in biopharmaceuticals, potentially leading to new standards for quality control in their production. New types of lasers optimized for these applications will therefore have significant market potential.