A microfluidic platform for high-throughput multiplexed protein quantitation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a high-throughput microfluidic platform capable of multiplexed protein quantitation, enabling rapid, parallel analysis of numerous biomarkers across multiple samples with high efficiency and stability.

Contribution

The authors developed a novel microfluidic device that performs 1,536 assays simultaneously, with programmable unit cells and stable pre-assembly, advancing multiplexed biomarker detection technology.

Findings

Successfully quantified multiple cytokines and proteins in proof-of-concept tests.

Demonstrated stability of the device for weeks at elevated temperatures.

Enabled screening of antibody combinations with high assay throughput.

Abstract

We present a high-throughput microfluidic platform capable of quantitating up to 384 biomarkers in 4 distinct samples by immunoassay. The microfluidic device contains 384 unit cells, which can be individually programmed with pairs of capture and detection antibody. Samples are quantitated in each unit cell by four independent MITOMI detection areas, allowing four samples to be analyzed in parallel for a total of 1,536 assays per device. We show that the device can be pre-assembled and stored for weeks at elevated temperature and we performed proof-of-concept experiments simultaneously quantitating IL-6, IL-1\b{eta}, TNF-{\alpha}, PSA, and GFP. Finally, we show that the platform can be used to identify functional antibody combinations by screening 64 antibody combinations requiring up to 384 unique assays per device.