Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research

Services and Instruments

The Fluid Biomarkers Laboratory at Brown is fee-for-service laboratory is equipped to measure biomarkers of disease in blood, urine, saliva, cerebrospinal fluid and tear fluid using state-of-the-art ultrasensitive immunoassay technology.

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HD-X™ Automated Immunoassay Analyzer 

The SIMOA® HD-X™ Analyzer is an ultrasensitive protein biomarker analysis platform that uses single-molecule array (Simoa®) technology, which enables sensitive and specific measurement of low-abundance proteins in complex biological samples such as serum, plasma, CSF, urine, saliva, as well as cell and tissue lysates. The HD-X™ system features high-throughput processing and enables simultaneous use of digital (single molecule counting) and analog (integrated fluorescence intensity) measurements to provide ultra-sensitive single molecule detection with dynamic range of 4-5 logs.  It also offers multiplexing capabilities, allowing simultaneous analysis of up to 6 biomarkers in a single sample at fg/ml concentrations. Overall, the HD-X™ platform is designed to advance our understanding of biological processes and support the discovery of new diagnostic and therapeutic targets. The HD-X™  Analyzer is compatible with a menu of over 75 ultra-sensitive Simoa® assays and Simoa® Homebrew Assays offer flexibility for custom assay development.

Meso Scale QuickPlex® SQ 120MM

Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) QuickPlex® SQ 120MM is a high-throughput multiplex assay platform for protein and biomarker analysis. The QuickPlex 120 system is capable of measuring up to 10 different protein analytes in a single well of a 96-well plate, making it ideal for large-scale and complex studies. It uses electrochemiluminescence technology to deliver highly sensitive and reproducible results. Additionally, MSD offers a range of pre-validated assays for a variety of applications including neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, intracellular signaling, toxicology and phosphorylation analysis. The QuickPlex 120 system is designed to support basic research, drug discovery, and clinical diagnostics with the option for easy-to-build custom multiplex assays.

SMCxPRO®

The SMCxPro® analyzer uses both plate-based and bead-based singleplex assay designs for the quantification of protein-based targets in highly complex samples including serum, plasma, CSF and saliva. Additionally, the digital quantification of individual molecules provides fg/ml sensitivity required for detection of blood based protein biomarkers. The SMC™ technology allows the measurement of proteins with increased precision, enabling quantification at both low and high expression levels. The SMCxPRO® is compatible with a menu of off-the-shelf, verified assay kits, as well as several options for homebrew custom assay development. Distinguishing SMC® assays from traditional immunoassays, an elution buffer is used to break apart the immunoassay complex and the eluate containing the fluorescent reporter molecule is transferred into the SMCxPRO® instrument where a laser excites the fluorescent-labeled detection antibody and individual photons are captured by an avalanche photodiode, thus removing other assay components that contribute high background fluorescent signal. 

Custom Assay Development

The Fluid Biomarkers Laboratory offers custom ELISA development or optimization of an existing immunoassay to detect or measure a specific target molecule according to your specifications. Following initial ELISA protocol optimization, custom homebrew assays can be developed using the Simoa® technology on the HD-X™ or with SMC™ technology on the SMCxPRO®. In addition, Meso Scale Diagnostics offers easy-to-build custom plate designs for several assay kit types (S-plex, V-plex and U-plex).

Additional Services

  • Whole Blood Processing
  • Buffy Coat Extraction
  • DNA Extraction
  • RNA Extraction
  • Sample Aliquots