Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A method of determining the identity of at least two coded beads in a mixture, wherein each coded bead comprises a substrate, two or more different phosphor particles, and at least one member of an affinity set, comprising:a) irradiating at least one bead with at least one irradiating wavelength of light, wherein the at least one irradiating wavelength of light causes at least one phosphor particle to emit at least one emitting wavelength of light;b) detecting the at least one emitting wavelength of light;c) optionally repeating (a) and (b) 1 to 20 times, wherein at least one of the at least one irradiating wavelength of light for each repetition is the same or different from at least one of the at least one irradiating wavelength of light for any previous irradiating of the beads, and wherein at least one of the at least one emitting wavelength of light for each repetition is the same or different from at least one of the at least one emitting wavelength of light for any previous emission by a phosphor particle; andd) determining the identity of at least one coded bead. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one emitting wavelength of light comprises light in the visible spectrum. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one emitting wavelength of light is between 380 nm and 720 nm. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one coded bead comprises two or more different phosphor particles that emit light at wavelengths shorter than a wavelength capable of exciting the two or more different phosphor particles. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one coded bead comprises at least one phosphor particle that emits light at a wavelength shorter than a wavelength capable of exciting the phosphor particle. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one coded bead comprises two or more different phosphor particles that emit light at wavelengths longer than a wavelength capable of exciting the two or more different phosphor particles. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one coded bead comprises at least one phosphor particle that emits light at a wavelength longer than a wavelength capable of exciting the phosphor particle. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one coded bead comprises two or more different phosphor particles comprising:phosphor particles that emit light at wavelengths shorter than a wavelength capable of exciting the two or more different phosphor particles; andphosphor particles that emit light at wavelengths longer than a wavelength capable of exciting the two or more different phosphor particles. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one member of an affinity set for each of the at least two coded beads is independently selected from a polynucleotide, a polypeptide, a polysaccharide, streptavidin, biotin, a ligand, an antigen, and an antibody. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one coded bead comprises at least one substrate selected from glass, metal, and an organic polymer. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one coded bead comprises phosphor particles distributed throughout the bead. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one coded bead comprises phosphor particles homogeneously distributed throughout the bead. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one coded bead comprises phosphor particles attached to the surface of the bead.