Multiplex Immunoassays: Chips and Beads

Multiplex analysis is intended to simultaneously look for multiple targets in one sample. This approach has been largely adopted in genomics and progressively expands to various domains of laboratory investigation. In protein analysis, immunoassays are the fundamental methods and their multiplexing and miniaturization is of great applicability to both basic and applied research. Furthermore, the potential of these high-throughput methodologies can be foreseen in the field of clinical diagnostics. The following text describes planar and bead-based arrays, two main strategies of immunoassay multiplexing. Principles, detection methods and strengths of each are shortly discussed. Finally, we mention several challenges linked with the integration of these methods to diagnostics.