Lab-in-a-Tip: a multiplex immunoassay platform based on a self-assembled barcoded protein array

High throughput immunoassay is increasingly crucial for both scientific and clinical applications. Here we propose a "Lab-in-a-Tip" (LIT) concept to fabricate a pipette tip containing a high-density protein array and other essential reagents. The protein array is made by self-assembling digitally encoded microparticles inside the modified tip. Mounted on a robotic workstation, it automates liquid-handling steps. Notably, compared with Luminex, the current gold standard in multiplex immunoassays, such a design enables LIT to demonstrate multiple advantages in terms of analytical sensitivity, speed, and throughput. It detects analyte concentrations as low as fg/ml, representing a sensitivity improvement of two orders of magnitude over Luminex. Incubation time is reduced to 15 minutes from Luminex's 210 minutes. Furthermore, LIT requires only 10 µl of sample, one-fifth of what Luminex needs. This makes LIT ideal for rapid diagnostics and studies with limited biological samples, greatly expanding its application scope.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-04-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59390-1
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Advanced Biosensing Techniques and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.81

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Lab-in-a-Tip: a multiplex immunoassay platform based on a self-assembled barcoded protein array

Yongyong Shi, Xiaodong Ma, Xin Li, Kefeng Pu et al.
1 citations
Nature Communications
Advanced Biosensing Techniques and Applications
0.81
article

Lab-in-a-Tip: a multiplex immunoassay platform based on a self-assembled barcoded protein array

Yongyong Shi, Xiaodong Ma, Xin Li, Kefeng Pu, Yiran He, Zhaoxu Luo, Jingyi Qin, Yanhua Chen, Min Jiang, Zhenlong Liang, Hong Wang, Ye Shen, Yayun Gu, Jiong Li
article en
1 citations

Abstract

High throughput immunoassay is increasingly crucial for both scientific and clinical applications. Here we propose a "Lab-in-a-Tip" (LIT) concept to fabricate a pipette tip containing a high-density protein array and other essential reagents. The protein array is made by self-assembling digitally encoded microparticles inside the modified tip. Mounted on a robotic workstation, it automates liquid-handling steps. Notably, compared with Luminex, the current gold standard in multiplex immunoassays, such a design enables LIT to demonstrate multiple advantages in terms of analytical sensitivity, speed, and throughput. It detects analyte concentrations as low as fg/ml, representing a sensitivity improvement of two orders of magnitude over Luminex. Incubation time is reduced to 15 minutes from Luminex's 210 minutes. Furthermore, LIT requires only 10 µl of sample, one-fifth of what Luminex needs. This makes LIT ideal for rapid diagnostics and studies with limited biological samples, greatly expanding its application scope.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
University of Science and Technology of China (CN), China Pharmaceutical University (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Chinese PLA General Hospital (CN), Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, University of Science and Technology of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 29%
Advanced Biosensing Techniques and Applications
0.81
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.