Clarke Ronald J
School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia.
Biophys Rev. 2025 Jun 16;17(3):809-827. doi: 10.1007/s12551-025-01322-w. eCollection 2025 Jun.
The purpose of this review is to describe the development of the Surface Electrogenic Event Reader (SURFER) instrument, from the discovery of its fundamental underlying principle of capacitive coupling of biological membranes in the late 1970s to the present-day commercial instrument, which since 2012 has been marketed by the company Nanion Technologies. The story of the SURFER's development is a prime example of the transfer of a concept from fundamental research into a commercial product for the benefit of society. The capacitive coupling detection method was first recognized and used in research into the reaction mechanism of the proton pump bacteriorhodopsin from purple membrane fragments of a . The modern instrument now has a much wider application to research on the mechanisms of pumps and transporters in general, in the screening of drugs targeting pumps and transporters, and in quantifying drug affinity to biological membranes. The instrument is, therefore, of potential interest to researchers in both academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Because the author has worked and interacted with most, if not all, of the scientists involved in the evolution of the SURFER, the article also provides personal insights into the lives and careers of the leading scientists involved: Peter Läuger, Ernst Bamberg, Klaus Fendler, Thiemo Gropp and Niels Fertig.
本综述的目的是描述表面电致事件读取器（SURFER）仪器的发展历程，从20世纪70年代末发现其基于生物膜电容耦合的基本原理，到如今的商业仪器，自2012年以来由Nanion Technologies公司销售。SURFER的发展历程是一个将概念从基础研究转化为造福社会的商业产品的典型例子。电容耦合检测方法最初是在对来自嗜盐菌紫色膜片段的质子泵细菌视紫红质反应机制的研究中被认识和使用的。现在，这种现代仪器在研究一般的泵和转运体机制、筛选针对泵和转运体的药物以及量化药物与生物膜的亲和力方面有更广泛的应用。因此，该仪器对学术界和制药行业的研究人员都具有潜在的吸引力。由于作者与参与SURFER发展过程的大多数（如果不是全部）科学家都有过合作和交流，本文还提供了对相关主要科学家的生活和职业生涯的个人见解：彼得·劳格、恩斯特·班贝格、克劳斯·芬德勒、蒂莫·格罗普和尼尔斯·费蒂希。
