Multiplex Assay Techniques

In order to pursue our goal of further characterizing neurospychiatric disorders, especially in easily accessible peripheral fluids, we are in a close collaboration with Luminex and Myriad RBM constantly refining our multiplexed assay approaches.

Multi-Analyte Profiling (MAP) assays allow the accurate quantification of a high number of proteins in small volumes of body fluids. We are using the Luminex MagPix system (xMAP technology) in house to measure the levels of approximately 50 biochemical markers in large sample sets obtained from patients with various psychiatric disorders before and after drug treatments.

Our results will support not only the early diagnosis of these disorders, but also the monitoring of drug response, efficacy, side-effects and compliance. They may also help elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying psychiatric disease, leading to the future development of more effective drug treatments.

Multiplex immunoassay profiling. Samples containing the proteome of interest are added to dye-coded microsphere-antibody conjugates which target specific proteins. The second antibodies containing covalently bound fluorescent labels are then added. The mixtures are then based through a flow cytometry like instrument for identification and quantitation of the target proteins using red and green lasers, respectively.