Introduction to Fluorescent Microspheres

What is a fluorescent microsphere?

In addition to detecting fluorescein-containing reagents, the HG-98 immunofluorescence analyzer is often used to detect reagents with fluorescent microspheres. What is a fluorescent microsphere?

Fluorescent microspheres: Fluorescent microspheres generally refer to particles that are spherical in shape and have a diameter between a few nanometers and tens of micrometers. The surface of the microspheres is loaded with a fluorescent substance that emits fluorescence when excited by a certain amount of energy. Fluorescent microspheres have relatively stable luminescent behavior and morphological structure compared to pure fluorescent compounds. At present, it has been possible to prepare a wide variety of fluorescent microspheres having a particle size ranging from nanometer to submicron. Fluorescent microspheres have relatively stable morphological structure and luminescence behavior, and are much less affected by external conditions such as solvent, heat, electricity and magnetism than pure fluorescent compounds.

As a special functional microsphere, fluorescent microspheres, due to the enrichment of organic or inorganic substances capable of emitting fluorescence in a single microsphere, in addition to the properties of inorganic and organic substances, can also emit fluorescence under external energy stimulation. . Fluorescent microspheres have uniform particle size, good monodispersity, good stability and high luminous efficiency. The surface curvature of the microspheres is beneficial to the optimal reaction state of the exposed surface of the antigenic determinant and antibody binding site, so it is widely used in many fields. Applications such as biochemistry, biomedicine, clinical medicine, genetic analysis, and optical instruments, among which fluorescent microspheres are particularly important in medical and biological applications.

Fluorescent microspheres prepared by introducing one or more fluorescent substances on or into the surface of polymer microspheres were first used as fluorescent standard substance microspheres for calibrating flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy, and then gradually applied to cell markers, Biomolecular labeling and tracing under active conditions can also immobilize protein molecules, etc., and track their functionalization processes. At present, there are many reagent manufacturers, using fluorescent microsphere technology to make immunofluorescence detection reagents, and combined with our HG-98 immunofluorescence analyzer to achieve immunological quantitative detection.

Fluorescent microspheres can carry many fluorescent molecules, and weaker stimuli can trigger strong signals, so only a small amount of low-energy radiation can generate fluorescent signals, avoiding the radiation danger caused by the use of traditional radioactive microspheres. The cost is reduced under the premise of loss detection sensitivity. The fluorescent microspheres that have been industrialized have made the development of high-throughput immunoassay, drug screening, immobilized enzymes and other technologies a step, and the application of fluorescent microspheres as diagnostic reagents to immunoassays is inevitable. The fluorescent microspheres are used as immobilized carriers for different detection targets in biological sample detection. Different fluorescent microspheres correspond to different capture antibodies and recognize different antigens, thereby realizing qualitative and quantitative detection of various antigens to be tested. We look forward to the maturity and development of this technology.