Systems for Multiplexed Analysis of Biological Samples
Description:
Limitations on the number of biomolecules that can be quantified in biological samples, especially at the single-cell level, in situ, impede advances in accurate molecular diagnosis and understanding of normal cell physiology and disease pathogenesis. Spectral overlap of commonly available fluorophores is the largest culprit hindering the multiplexing capacity of conventional fluorescence microscopy approaches. While methods have been developed to try and overcome these limitations, issues still remain regarding consistent quantification, limited sensitivity, long assay time, specimen degradation and increased background.
Researchers at Arizona State University have developed a method for detecting multiple targets in biological samples, including tissues, using probes labeled with cleavable fluorophores. In this method, probes labeled with cleavable fluorophores are utilized to detect their molecular targets in biological samples immobilized on a solid surface. After fluorescence imaging and data storage, the probe-coupled cleavable fluorophores are efficiently removed. Upon continuous cycles of target recognition, fluorescence imaging, and signal removal, this approach has the potential to quantify over 100 different molecular targets at the optical resolution in biological/tissue samples. This approach enhances detection sensitivity while reducing imaging time by 1-2 orders of magnitude and can be used in both cultured cells as well as formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues.
This highly sensitive, multiplexed, reiterative protein staining approach has wide applications in research, molecular diagnoses and targeted therapies.
Potential Applications
- Molecular diagnostics & prognostics
- Targeted therapies (monitoring the effect of treatments)
- Basic biological studies (systems biology, cell heterogeneity, signaling pathway analysis, and more)
- Fluorescent tags for different biology probes in:
- Protein quantification
- DNA or RNA in situ hybridization & metabolic analyses
Benefits and Advantages
- 88 times more sensitive than direct immunofluorescence
- 35 times more sensitive than indirect immunofluorescence
- High signal removal efficiency - over 95% removed by mild chemical reagents while preserving the integrity of the epitopes on protein targets
- Measures cell-to-cell variations of proteins/nucleic acids as opposed to population-based measurements
- Can detect 50-100 different proteins/nucleic acids expressed at different levels in the same tissue/biological sample
- High sensitivity detection of low-abundant proteins or short RNAs
- Can be used with cultured cells and formalin fixed tissues
- Reduced imaging and overall assay time
- Potential side reactions with cellular nucleophiles can be prevented
- Enables accurate quantification of multiple proteins
For more information about this opportunity, please see
For more information about the inventor(s) and their research, please see
- Case ID:
- M21-184LC^
- Published:
- 05-03-2022
- Last Updated:
- 08-30-2022
Categories
Applied Technologies Bioanalytical Assays, Chemistries & Devices Diagnostic Assays/Devices Life Science (All LS Techs) Chemical/Biological Sensors Imaging Proteomic Assays/Reagents/ToolsFor More Information, Contact
- Jovan Heusser
- jheusser@asu.edu