Microparticle based flow cytometric assays for determination of the level of soluble biomarkers are widely used in several research applications and in some diagnostic setups. The major advantages of these multiplex systems are that they can measure a large number of analytes (up to 500) at the same time reducing assay time, costs and sample volume. Most of these assays are based on antigen-antibody interactions and work as traditional immunoassays, but nucleic acid alterations - by using special hybridization probes -, enzyme- substrate or receptor-ligand interactions can be also studied with them. The applied beads are nowadays provided by the manufacturers, but cheaper biological microbeads can be prepared by any user. One part of the systems can be used on any research or clinical cytometers, but some companies provide dedicated analyzers for their multiplex bead arrays. Due to the high standardization of the bead production and the preparation of the assay components the analytical properties of these assays are quite reliable with a wide range of available applications. Cytokines, intracellular fusion proteins, activated/phosphorylated components of different signaling pathways, transcription factors and nuclear receptors can be identified and quantitated. The assays may serve the diagnostics of autoimmune disorders, different viral and bacterial infections, as well as genetic alterations such as single nucleotide polymorphisms, small deletions/insertions or even nucleotide triplet expansions can be also identified. The most important principles, technical details and applications of these systems are discussed in this short review.
Keywords: bead technology; flow cytometry; soluble markers.