IonGate Biosciences

Fast, safe and efficient

SURFE²R Technology can cut the time-to-market for new drugs

  • Cell-free electrophysiological method

  • Automated, sensor-based, label-free measurement
  • Enables efficient drug screening utilizing transporters
  • Access to intracellular targets
  • Drastically increased throughput and sensitivity compared to conventional methods

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More about SURFE²R Technology

SURFE²R Technology enables higher throughput, high-sensitivity, direct functional assays, for screening transporter target

SURFE²R Technology

Fast-track transporter research

Transporters play a fundamental role in the cells of all living organisms. Many of them belong to the group of electrically-active membrane proteins involved in signal transduction, information processing and metabolism. In addition, they play a crucial role in the bioavailability of drugs.

In spite of their significance, transporters have not been widely adopted in current screening processes due to their poor experimental accessibility. Until now, that is.

New platform

IonGate has developed a revolutionary, biosensor-based technology platform – SURFE²R™ (SURFace Electrogenic Event Reader) – that enables direct functional characterization of transporter proteins. Membrane fragments, or vesicles containing the corresponding transport proteins, are adsorbed onto sensors representing solid supported membranes. Proteins are activated by providing substrates via rapid solution exchange and the resulting activity is detected by means of an electrical measurement, doing away with the requirement for fluorescent dyes or radioactive markers.

New level of sensitivity

The new technology distinguishes itself from conventional electrophysiological methods in that each ready-to-use sensor chip can accommodate membrane fragments from thousands of cells, providing unparalleled sensitivity and delivering a huge increase in throughput.

New level of applicability

A wide variety of membrane sources can be employed, opening up new possibilities where conventional electrophysiology fails. In addition to mammalian cells, sample material from bacteria and even native tissue can be used. Moreover, the technology provides access to targets of intracellular compartments.

Productivity gain

By being able to measure more membrane in a synchronized manner, i.e. applying the equivalent of 1,000 – 10,000 cells on each sensor, the screening process is vastly improved. The requirement for tissue culture is decoupled from the assay process: membranes can be batch-produced in advance and kept in a freezer until required. Besides providing a step-change in the drug discovery process, prediction of undesirable side effects is also greatly enhanced and, consequently, the risk factor is significantly reduced. Both the SURFE²R technology and the instrument itself are extremely robust, allowing researchers to focus on the experimental task and subsequent interpretation of results.
Schematic diagram of a gold-based Solid Supported Membrane

Schematic diagram of a gold-based Solid Supported Membrane (SSM) with a protein-containing membrane sheet attached to it. The equivalent circuit is shown on the right.
The basic principle behind the SURFE²R technology is the rapid exchange of solutions above immobilized lipid membrane entities. A gold-based, solid-supported membrane (SSM) serves two purposes at once, i.e. offering an adhesive surface to the membrane entities and functioning as a transducer of a biosensor system. The SSM, in combination with the gold underneath and the electrolyte solution above, functions as an electrical capacitor.
The basic principle behind the SURFE²R technology