New Bio-Plex Pro™ Cell Signaling Assays for Detecting Phosphorylated and Total Proteins

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. today announced the launch of its new Bio-Plex Pro cell signaling assays for detecting phosphorylated and total proteins involved in key intracellular signaling pathways. The Bio-Plex Pro immunoassays take advantage of the magnetic bead workflow to simplify assay preparation and improve precision.

The 34 magnetic bead–based immunoassays (23 phosphoprotein and 11 total protein targets) have been reformulated and optimized to provide exceptional sensitivity, high specificity, and improved performance over western blot and ELISA methods. They are available in singleplex sets and custom premixed all-in-one kit formats.

Bio-Plex Pro cell signaling assays can be used with lysates derived from adherent cells, suspension cells, or tissue samples. This appeals to researchers in areas such as cancer/oncology, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, metabolic diseases, neurological disorders, cardiovascular disorders, and toxicology.

Dave Clarke, a postdoctoral research associate in the department of biological engineering at MIT, has successfully tested the new cell signaling assays. He is particularly satisfied with the balance between multiplexing and sample throughput, which allows him to build mathematical models of hepatocyte signal transduction in response to inflammation.

“Bio-Rad’s Bio-Plex Pro cell signaling assays are reliable and give us the quantitative data we need while being relatively easy to perform,” said Dr Clarke. “They fill a niche that no other assay currently fills.”

Bio-Plex Pro assays provide many advantages over other xMAP and ELISA offerings, including:

• Better performance — broader dynamic range, for increased confidence in sample detection, and higher sensitivity (detection of analyte in as little as 0.04 μg total lysate per assay well)

• Flexible ordering options — order singleplex sets or configure a custom premixed kit

The Bio-Plex Pro cell signaling assays are compatible with all Bio-Plex readers for life science research, as well as Luminex 100/200, FLEXMAP 3D, and MAGPIX instruments.