Lanthanide-containing polymer microspheres by multiple-stage dispersion polymerization for highly multiplexed...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Multiplexed immunoassays require highly specific and sensitive detection methods.
• Existing bead-based assays face limitations in encoding capacity and detection sensitivity.
• Development of novel encoding strategies is crucial for advancing high-throughput biological analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize metal-encoded polystyrene microspheres for multiplexed bioassays.
• To demonstrate the utility of these microspheres for high-capacity data encoding.
• To validate their application in a proof-of-principle immunoassay.

Main Methods:

• Utilized multiple-stage dispersion polymerization to create uniform polystyrene microspheres (approx. 2 µm).
• Incorporated lanthanide metals (e.g., La, Tm, Pr) via chelation with acrylic acid or AAEM.
• Characterized individual microspheres using a novel mass cytometer with ICP-ionization and TOF mass spectrometry.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized metal-encoded microspheres with narrow size distribution and high metal loading (10^6-10^8 ions/microsphere).
• Achieved significant encoding variability (624 combinations) using four metals at five concentration levels.
• Demonstrated proof-of-principle in a multiplexed immunoassay by detecting specific antibody-antigen interactions.

Conclusions:

• Metal-encoded polystyrene microspheres offer a robust platform for high-capacity multiplexed assays.
• The developed synthesis and characterization methods enable precise control over encoding.
• This technology holds promise for advancing sensitive and high-throughput biological detection.