Multiplex Flow Assays

Lateral flow or dipstick assays (e.g., home pregnancy tests), where an analyte solution is drawn through a porous membrane and is detected by localization onto a capture probe residing at a specific site on the flow strip, are the most commonly and extensively used type of diagnostic assay. However, after over 30 years of use, these assays are constrained to measuring one or a few analytes at a time. Here, we describe a completely general method, in which any single-plex lateral flow assay is transformed into a multiplex assay capable of measuring an arbitrarily large number of analytes simultaneously. Instead of identifying the analyte by its localization onto a specific geometric location in the flow medium, the analyte-specific capture probe is identified by its association with a specific optically encoded region within the flow medium. The capture probes for nucleic acids, antigens, or antibodies are attached to highly porous agarose beads, which have been encoded using multiple lanthanide emitters to create a unique optical signature for each capture probe. The optically encoded capture probe-derivatized beads are placed in contact with the analyte-containing porous flow medium and the analytes are captured onto the encoded regions as the solution flows through the porous medium. To perform a multiplex diagnostic assay, a solution comprising multiple analytes is passed through the flow medium containing the capture probe-derivatized beads, and the captured analyte is treated with a suitable fluorescent reporter. We demonstrate this multiplex analysis technique by simultaneously measuring DNA samples, antigen-antibody pairs, and mixtures of multiple nucleic acids and antibodies.