Method Article

Mass Photometry to Study Antigen-Antibody Interactions on a Single-Molecule Level

July 8th, 2025

In This Article

Abstract

Loading...
$$\rightleftharpoonup{xx}$$ $$\longleftharp{xx}$$, $$\longrightharp{xx}$$,

Source: Wu, D. et. al., Rapid Determination of Antibody-Antigen Affinity by Mass Photometry. J. Vis. Exp. (2021)

In this video, we demonstrate the use of mass photometry to study antigen-antibody interactions in a flow chamber. The focused light scatters differently based on the mass of the molecules. A detector collects the scattered light and generates the interference pattern as spots of varied intensities, which correlate with the molecular masses.

Protocol

Loading...
$$\rightleftharpoonup{xx}$$ $$\longleftharp{xx}$$, $$\longrightharp{xx}$$,

1. Prepare the flow chambers

  1. Clean the glass coverslips
    1. Using wash bottles with distilled water, ethanol, and isopropanol, rinse the 24 mm x 50 mm coverslips in the following order: water, ethanol, water, isopropanol, water. Dry the coverslips with a stream of clean nitrogen. It is important to rinse the coverslips from top to bottom, holding the bottom corner with soft-tipped forceps. Dry the coverslip in the same direction to avoid transferring contamination from the forceps (Figure 1A).
    2. Similarly, rinse the 24 mm x 24 mm coverslips with distilled water, ethanol, and distilled water. Dry the coverslips with a strea....

Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.

Results

Loading...
$$\rightleftharpoonup{xx}$$ $$\longleftharp{xx}$$, $$\longrightharp{xx}$$,

Coverslip preparation, double-sided tape usage diagram for microscopy experiments, fluid flow setup.
Figure 1: MP flow chamber preparation and loading. (A) Coverslip holding position for the cleaning procedure. (B) Alignment of the 24 x 24 mm coverslip (middle layer) and the double-sided tape (top layer) on the surface.......

Access restricted. Please log in or start a trial to view this content.

Disclosures

Loading...
$$\rightleftharpoonup{xx}$$ $$\longleftharp{xx}$$, $$\longrightharp{xx}$$,
No conflicts of interest declared.

Materials

List of materials used in this article
NameCompanyCatalog NumberComments
AcquireMPRefeynMP data collection software
Anti-human thrombinHaematologic TechnologiesAHT-5020RRID: AB_2864302
Cotton-tipped applicatorsThorlabsCTA10Cotton optical swabs for lens cleaning
Coverslips 24x24 mmGlobe Scientific1405-10
Coverslips 24x50 mmFisher Scientific12-544-EP
DiscoverMPRefeynMP data processing software
ForcepsElectron Microscopy Sciences78080-CFSoft-tipped forceps for coverslips handling
Human α-thrombinHaematologic TechnologiesHCT-0020
Immersion oilThorlabsMOIL-30
IsopropanolAlfa Aesar36644
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoftSpreadsheet
OneMPRefeynMass Photometry instrument
OriginOriginLabScientific graphing software
PBSCorning46-013-CM10x stock
Syringe filterMilliporeSLGSR33SSBuffer and sample filtering

Reprints and Permissions

Request permission to reuse the text or figures of this JoVE article

Request Permission

Tags

Mass PhotometryAntigen Antibody InteractionsSingle Molecule AnalysisFlow Chamber ImagingLight Scattering DetectionMolecular Mass DistributionGaussian Peak FittingAntibody Antigen AffinityPBS Buffer PreparationData Analysis Software

Related Articles