Patent ID: 8704517

Claim:
A method of detecting a cell surface protein in a cell sample comprising: (i) obtaining a cell sample from a subject; and (ii) detecting the presence of the cell surface protein in the cell sample using a device, the device comprising: (a) a support defining a well for holding the cell sample and magnetic particles, the magnetic particles having binding moieties linked thereto, wherein the binding moieties are operative to alter an aggregation phenomena of the magnetic particles in the cell sample as a function of the presence or concentration of cell surface protein in the cell sample; and (b) an RF coil disposed about the well, the RF coil configured to detect an echo response produced by exposing the cell sample to a bias magnetic field created using one or more magnets and an RF excitation; wherein an echo response detected from the cell sample exposed to the bias magnetic field and RF excitation is indicative of detection of the one or more analytes in the cell sample, thereby detecting the presence of the cell surface protein.