{
  "abstract": "Quantitative biology, from clinical diagnostics to drug discovery, relies on molecular binding assays. Except digital PCR, these assays require calibration curves and cannot be compared across platforms. All binding assays obey one physical law: an exact finite-site equation of state from statistical mechanics, with two dimensionless variables, the relative target concentration and a regime parameter κ. κ maps assay platforms from the Langmuir limit (κ > 10) to near-complete capture (κ < 0.1). Invariance under joint rescaling of molecule number, capture capacity, and affinity (scale degeneracy) precludes their determination from one equilibrium measurement, explaining calibration. We identify three criteria for calibration-free absolute quantification, met today only by digital PCR, and prove analog assays intrinsically calibration-bound, increasingly so with precision. Validated on six decades of data, from the 1960 radioimmunoassay to single-molecule arrays and clinical samples, it unifies sensitivity standards, explains digital-assay error budgets, and turns calibration into a design parameter.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, Nanchang University",
    "Sino German Joint Research Institute, Nanchang University",
    "Shanghai Aurefluidics Technology Co., Ltd.",
    "Nanchang Hongdu Hospital of TCM",
    "Shanghai LiangTa biotech Co., Ltd.",
    "School of Advanced Manufacturing, Nanchang University",
    "School of Pharmacy, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University",
    "The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University",
    "The MOE Basic Research and Innovation Center for the Targeted Therapeutics of Solid Tumors, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University",
    "Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of New Drug Evaluation and Transformation"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Liang Guo",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6404-8797"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Tianjiao Mao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Yipi Xiao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Feiyue Qin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Fanrong Ai"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Jiani Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Qingxin Song"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Shengming Yu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Xiluan Yan",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4161-3471"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Huan Li",
      "orcid": "0009-0004-2695-6825"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5bjsnz8bv8bqm.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-19rj6/v11",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "5bjsnz8bv8bqm",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-19rj6/v11",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214919653",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-19rj6/v11",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-30",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5bjsnz8bv8bqm.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:21Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-19rj6",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-19rj6/v11"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Scale degeneracy: the physical basis of calibration and absolute quantitation in molecular binding",
  "title_text": "Scale degeneracy: the physical basis of calibration and absolute quantitation in molecular binding",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:21Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5bjsnz8bv8bqm",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}