Multiplex Immunoassays

Biological or pathological processes lead to changes in the composition of the proteome. The accurate analysis of such changes of individual proteins/biomarkers can be performed using antibody-based detection systems. The Multiplex Immunoassays Group at the NMI uses and develops multiplex immunoassays for this purpose. Multiplexing enables the analysis of multiple biomarkers simultaneously. Based on their information-density, multiplex assays can be applied in early/differential diagnosis, disease staging or epidemiological studies, as well as in vaccine or therapeutic development. The Multiplex Immunoassays Group contributes its technical and scientific know-how to industrial research cooperations and joint projects with partners from industry and science.

Services

Our services are tailor-made to meet the requirements of our customers.

Multiplex Immunoassays

  • Development of Multiplex Immunoassays on Luminex Platform and/or all required assay reagents
  • Assay Validation (fit-for-purpose, according to EMA/FDA or CLSI guidelines)
  • Sample analysis of exploratory, preclinical and clinical study samples
  • Sample analysis with commercially available assay kits (e.g. Luminex®)
  • Sample analysis with in-house developed antibody assays for SARS-CoV-2, Borrelia, Hepatitis and RSV. Further assays in development include Influenza and Measles.
  • biomarker identification
  • Assay and technology evaluation
  • Advice on immunoassay technologies
  • Epitope Mapping
  • Peptide Arrays

 

Sandwich immunoassays

  • Development of ELISAs and/or all required assay reagents
  • Assay Validation
  • Sample analysis including with commercially available kits (e.g. ELISA)
  • biomarker identification
  • Assay and technology evaluation
  • Advice on immunoassay technologies

 

General biochemical methods

  • Protein-protein interaction analysis
  • Enzyme substrate assays
  • Antibody generation (polyclonal, monoclonal)
  • Purification of antibodies and proteins
  • Antibody characterization: thermal stability and aggregation (nanoDSF, Prometheus), epitope mapping, affinity (Biacore®)

 

Techniques, methods, equipment

Depending on the task, state-of-the-art analytical equipment is used to achieve optimum results in terms of efficiency, costs, throughput and quality. A semi-automated laboratory set up is available for high-throughput bead coupling and sample measurement (upto 8000 per week).

Immunoassays

  • several Luminex FLEXMAP 3D® instruments
  • Luminex INTELLIFLEX instrument
  • Beckman Coulter i7 pipetting robot
  • Luminex MAGPIX®
  • 2 Quanterix® HD-1 Instruments
  • Quanterix® SRX Instrument
  • ELISA Reader

 

Electrophoresis

  • SDS-PAGE, Western Blot

 

Chromatography systems

  • 3 ÄKTAxpress (GE Healthcare)

 

Antibody characterization

  • Biacore® 3000
  • Prometheus
  • OctetRED

 

Network

Universities:
e.g. Tübingen, Ulm, Freiburg, Hannover Medical School, Hamburg


Clinics:
e.g. Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, University of Tübingen Centre for Neurology, University Hospital Freiburg, Charite Berlin, Medecine Interne et Maladies Infectieuses - Paris

Research institutes:
e.g. Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research