Accelerated surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-based immunoassay on a gold-plated membrane.

A rapid and simple SERS-based immunoassay has been developed to overcome diffusion-limited binding kinetics that often impedes rapid analysis in conventional heterogeneous immunoassays. This paper describes the development of an antibody-modified membrane as a flow-through capture substrate for a nanoparticle-enabled SERS immunoassay to enhance antibody-antigen binding kinetics. A thin layer of gold is plated onto polycarbonate track-etched nanoporous membranes via electroless deposition.

Assessment drives learning: an unavoidable truth?

The debate around which factors drive medical students' learning is ongoing and controversial. What is the influence of an assessment's weighting on the motivation of students to study the particular subject? One medical school in London is in a unique position to investigate this question. At our institution, the weighting of Anatomy within the overall scheme of assessment has changed twice in recent years, a trend of increased weighting.