Cytométrie en flux, microbilles et analyses biomoléculaires multiplexes

In flow cytometry, microspheres are important tools. Initially developed to optimize diffraction and fluorescent signals detected by the flow cytometers, microspheres are now widely used to perform antigenic quantification. Actually, they also permit simultaneous identifications and quantifications of some analytes (proteins, nucleotides, ions) or of pathogens in few microliters of sample. To this end, microspheres with various fluorescence intensities and/or different sizes (coupled with proteins or oligonucleotides) are used, and analyzed either on conventional or specifically dedicated flow cytometers. The applications of these multiplexed methods of biomolecular analyses by flow cytometry open new fields of investigations in biology, medicine, food industry, and environmental sciences.