A New Bio-Molecules Decryption Protocol Using Shape Encoded Particles (SEP)

We had introduced the possibility of using shape-encoded particles (SEP) as DNA carrier (versus physical 2-dimensional array) to physically track the footpath of bio-molecules [ 1-2]. This proof-of-concept experiment demonstrated SEPs as effective tracers for application such as DNA microarray. Starting with the central concept, however, significant advances had to be made to build the entire new system to demonstrate a user-friendly protocol. In this paper, we report the completion of a new biological analysis system using SEPs as the platform. Furthermore, we increased the power of encoding from 2
⁵
to 2
²⁰
, increased the particle array density by factor of 4, and developed software for image capture and data interpretation. Completed with substrates design, probes preparation, microassembly, detection, all the way to data analysis, this system creates a large number of distinguishable particles, allows flexibility in experimental design, and enables an elegantly simple tracking mechanism when massive multiplexed assays are desired.