In research and diagnostics, an assay is a technique used to detect or quantify a specific substance, activity, or reaction. For example, protein quantitation assays like the bicinchoninic acid (BCA)1 or Bradford2 assays allow scientists to measure protein levels in a sample, while cell viability assays, such as the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay3, could assess the impact of compounds on tumor cell growth. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)4 detects antibodies, antigens, or proteins in substances like plasma and can help clinicians diagnose diseases like HIV5 or screen blood donors for infections such as hepatitis6.
Quick, efficient, and accurate assays are vital in research and diagnostics, especially as high-throughput screening (HTS) in drug discovery can involve testing many samples or compounds, which can be time- and resource-intensive. In diagnostics, sometimes only a very small sample from a patient is available for testing, so performing assays in large volumes simply isn’t practical. Miniaturization addresses these challenges by enabling small-volume, high-throughput assays, offering several assay miniaturization benefits that we'll explore next.
Figure 1. Miniaturization allows more dense multiwell plates, such as a 384-well microplate (pictured above), to be used for high-throughput screening.
As the considerable assay miniaturization benefits lead to it gaining popularity in science and clinical research, innovative tools and technologies are being developed to enhance the process. Microfluidics has been pivotal in miniaturizing assays by allowing precise control of tiny liquid volumes10. Lab-on-a-chip devices integrate multiple laboratory functions on a single chip up to a few centimeters in size and use microfluidics to analyze a single drop of a sample, such as blood or cells. For example, lab-on-a-chip-based portable blood test devices facilitate point-of-care diagnostics11, while organ-on-chip devices can be used instead of animal models for pharmaceutical testing12.
To successfully miniaturize an assay, researchers need to adapt protocols to work optimally in smaller formats. A major complexity here is liquid handling, which can be challenging when working with tiny volumes. However, advanced automation technologies such as the I.DOT Liquid Handler have come to the rescue, helping scientists overcome this hurdle by enabling rapid, accurate small-volume liquid handling (Fig. 2)13.
Figure 2. The I.DOT Liquid Handler enables automated liquid handling for precise, efficient miniaturized assays.
Finally, one of the biggest challenges that comes with assessing more samples is dealing with the increased volumes of data that come with it. This can be labor-intensive and require highly skilled, knowledgeable data analysts. However, recent strides in AI-based analytical pipelines are making more rapid, efficient data analysis possible, accelerating time to insight14.
Miniaturization has transformed genomics assays, such as next-generation sequencing (NGS), making DNA and RNA sequencing more robust and cost-efficient for clinical diagnostics15. This leads to the assay miniaturization benefit of allowing researchers to use significantly smaller sample volumes without sacrificing data quality for more efficient, accessible diagnostic procedures.
Previously, large, specialized equipment was required for diagnostics, meaning patient samples would need to be shipped to advanced labs miles away for testing, leaving patients waiting days or weeks for results. Now, through miniaturization, compact, rapid testing methods have been developed and applied at the point of care for fast, accurate early disease detection16.
By reducing sample volumes, miniaturized assays have expanded the scale of cell-based microplate assays, facilitating the rapid testing of extensive compound libraries for hit identification or drug repurposing17. Innovative technologies like organ-on-chip (OOC) devices also offer cost-efficient, ethical alternatives for disease modeling and toxicity testing, reducing the reliance on animal testing18.
One of the most considerable assay miniaturization benefits in ecology is the capacity to analyze small sample volumes. This reduces the need for extensive sample collection and processing, making monitoring less resource-intensive while facilitating more frequent, widespread testing for pollutants and other environmental contaminants19.
Miniaturized assays are tiny tools that offer huge assay miniaturization benefits: they use less sample and reagent, allow testing of more samples simultaneously, enhance sensitivity and precision, and are portable and cost-effective. Cutting-edge technologies like microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip devices are making diagnostics faster and more accessible, allowing miniaturization to provide quick, reliable results in drug discovery, environmental monitoring, and point-of-care testing.
Contact us for a consultation and discover how DISPENDIX’s cutting-edge technologies, including the I.DOT Liquid Handler, can boost your research efficiency. Whether you’re interested in drug discovery, diagnostics, or environmental monitoring, our tools offer unparalleled precision, speed, and reliability. Reach out now to explore how miniaturization can revolutionize your work with our sustainable, cost-effective, and high-throughput solutions!
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Al-Matary AM, Department of Human Medicine, College of Medical and Health Sciences, Jibla University, Jibla, Yemen, Gashaa FASA, Department of Biology, Al Farabi University College, Baghdad, Iraq, Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Science, Ibb University, Ibb, Yemen, * Corresponding Author: Fadhl Ahmed Saed Al Gashaa, Department of Biology, Al Farabi University College, Baghdad, Iraq. Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Science, Ibb University, Ibb, Yemen. E-mail: fad974@gmail.com. Comparison of different rapid screening tests and ELISA for HBV, HCV, and HIV among healthy blood donors and recipients at Jibla University Hospital Yemen. J Med Life. 2022;15(11):1403-1408. doi:10.25122/jml-2022-0051
Momenbeitollahi N, Cloet T, Li H. Pushing the detection limits: strategies towards highly sensitive optical-based protein detection. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2021;413(24):5995-6011. doi:10.1007/s00216-021-03566-3
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Guzman NA, Guzman DE, Blanc T. Advancements in portable instruments based on affinity-capture-migration and affinity-capture-separation for use in clinical testing and life science applications. J Chromatogr A. 2023;1704:464109. doi:10.1016/j.chroma.2023.464109
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Future of medicine: Lab-on-a-chip devices starting to make an impact | NHLBI, NIH. Accessed December 12, 2023. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2021/future-medicine-lab-chip-devices-starting-make-impact
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