Analytische Chemie
Filtern
Dokumenttyp
- Vortrag (1)
- Posterpräsentation (1)
Sprache
- Englisch (2)
Referierte Publikation
- nein (2)
Schlagworte
- Fluoresence (2) (entfernen)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
Eingeladener Vortrag
- nein (1)
The calibration of fluorescence signals in assays as well as in biological systems is a key requirement. Especially for quantitative studies of living cells, e.g. expression of biomolecules the generation of concentration-proportional analytical statements obtained by the fluorescence intensity plays a significant role. This also applies for cell assays like immunofluorescence assays. Also, the determination of local concentrations of target proteins within cells or within their environment is a major challenge in modern biology.
Proper calibration of the fluorescence imaging systems is the prerequisite to ensure that test results from different instruments and different test environments are comparable. The existing calibration solutions for fluorescence imaging systems, however, mostly depend on simple instrument calibration without reference to absolute physical standards or with insufficient stability for multiple measurements. In order to obtain the necessary quantitative information, it is required to calibrate both instruments and the corresponding assays, ideally with one calibrating system.
We present several new calibration tools for the most commonly used platforms for cytometry, i.e. fluorescence microscope based systems and flow cytometry based systems. They are comprised of ultra-stable fluorophores that are encapsulated in bio- and cell-compatible polymer matrices. Each tool is tailored to the specific requirements of the different read-out platforms. Both re-usable single-color calibration slides for fluorescence microscopes as well as new multi-color calibration beads are presented.
The traceability of the calibration tools to international standards and the wide calibration range of the fluorescence intensity are illustrated. They are thus suitable for calibration of the signal over concentration and quantum yield to that of the targets.
Monitoring water quality regarding emerging pollutants, such as drug residues, demands for selective, high-throughput and multi-target analytical methods. On the one hand, the influence of sewage on natural surface waters must be routinely monitored. On the other hand, estimation of removal efficiencies of pollutants, such as drug residues, is in the focus of industrial and public wastewater treatment. Immunoassays, such as ELISA, offer the possibility to be highly sensitive and selective due to the high target affinity and specificity of target recognition by antibodies. Batch-wise processing in microtiter plates allows for the necessary high-throughput, but only a single analyte can be determined within one measurement.
To overcome these disadvantages, we developed a four-plex Suspension Array Fluorescence Immunoassay (SAFIA), which is adaptable for the microtiter plate format. The modular and self-prepared bead support consists of polystyrene-core silica-shell microparticles. While the polystyrene core is used for encoding, by introducing different amounts of fluorescent dyes, the silica shell creates a solid-support for the immunoassay: the target analytes, three drugs, carbamazepine, diclofenac and caffeine, and the fecal marker isolithocholic acid are covalently coupled to amino groups on the surface via NHS chemistry. Specific recognition of these haptens is accomplished by further introduction of PEG moieties, suppressing non-specific binding. A competitive immunoassay is subsequently conducted in a simple mix-and-read procedure, eliminating the demand for laborious washing steps and decreasing time-to-result. An automated flow cytometer is used for simultaneous decoding and quantification.
After optimization, the SAFIA showed limits of detection for all analytes in the low µg L 1 range, meeting the sensitivity criteria for wastewater analysis. Then, applicability of the SAFIA was studied on real wastewater samples from three different wastewater treatment plants in Berlin. The results were in good comparability to LC-MS/MS indicating high matrix stability. Moreover, the accuracy of the assay exceeded that of the respective ELISA. Finally, we used SAFIA to assess the influent of treated and untreated wastewater on the Douro river estuary in Portugal. The obtained results of the analysis were comparable to ELISA. However, the measurements by SAFIA could be carried out in one quarter the time of analysis required for ELISA.
Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge financial support from Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst and from Fundação das Universidades Portuguesas under the protocol CRUP-DAAD (Ações Integradas Luso-Alemãs nºE-20/16, DAAD Zuwendungsvertrag 57212899).