We are interested in comparing several different analytes in plasma. Certainly, ELISA is more expensive than multiplex technology. Multiplexing saves plasma, time and money. However, we would like to know if there is a difference between ELISA and multiplex technology for any analyte that someone has investigated? Secondly, if people have preference over multiplex kit from a particular company and why? Our analytes are covered in RnD Systems Luminex based technology, and in Millipore as well, if anybody has a preference, we would like to know and why? Thank you for your time in writing back.
If I remember correctly, ELISA is much cheaper than multiplex analyses. The multiplex kits we used from BD/BioLegend came close to 1500-3000 CAD and we could run maybe 90 samples. Stretching the reagents is not a great idea when working with bead based systems. With ELISAs, you could run 20 plates (each containing 90 samples) with half the recommended reagents and it only came to 500-600 CAD. We still went with multiplex technology to save time and samples. In industry, money is not the biggest driver.
We used to get comparable values for pro/anti inflammatory cytokines and chemokines whether we did ELISA or multiplex bead based flow cytometry. The only cytokine we did Luminex for was IL-18 and that was coz of the lack of a super sensitive ELISA kit for this cytokine. If I had the choice, I would go with bead based flow cytometry over Luminex and that is coz I am more comfortable using a flow cytometer. As to different suppliers offering Luminex based methods, I cannot comment.
Hey Binal Shah,
Julie is right.
Normally ELISA kits are much cheaper than a Multiplex, but if you want to analyze a lot of Cyto/Chemokines (or other stuff) Multiplex is your choice. We only use Multiplex assays, when we checked at least some times with ELISA, if the effects are so strong enough so that the costs of a Multiplex are worth it. We compared IL-6, TNF and IL-1ß levels in serum after bacterial infection measured either with ELISA or with a Multiplex (36-plex) and they were pretty much the same. So it depends on the experimental situation, if you choice one or the other assay.
I hope I could help you.
All the best,
Marc
Hi Binal Shah , thanks for your question!
Multiplexing on xMAP beads is a great approach for looking at several analytes at once, and it sounds like you have a good understanding of the strengths of our beads. We have equipped our sales team with calculators to compare ELISA and xMAP assays that can help you sort out pricing questions.
As for a comparison of ELISA and xMAP results, there's no blanket answer. I would recommend you check out the resources below to get a good background on correlation of ELISA and xMAP results:
https://www.luminexcorp.com/xmap-technology/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3471270/
https://www.luminexcorp.com/blog/cytokine-detection-and-measurement-with-multiplex-technologies/
Finally, you can research existing immunoassay kits via our kitfinder, at kitfinder.luminexcorp.com.
We'd love to help you if you have any more questions. Please feel free to contact our support team at [email protected] or 1-877-785-2323.
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