Patent ID: 8906608

Claim:
A method for analyzing a biological extract containing a plurality of analyte species to detect said analyte species by a selected detection system, wherein said analyte species are present in said biological extract at concentrations encompassing such a wide range that analytes with concentrations at the upper end of said range, defined as high-abundance analyte species, interfere with the ability of said detection system to detect analyte species with concentrations at the lower end of said range, defined as low-abundance analyte species, said method comprising: (a) contacting a sample of said biological extract with a library of binding moieties, wherein said binding moieties are coupled to a solid support or supports, and said library of binding moieties having binding affinities sufficiently diverse to bind analyte species whose concentrations in said biological extract extend throughout said range, said sample and said library being at relative amounts such that said moieties that bind said high-abundance analyte species bind only a portion of said high-abundance analyte species, and by said binding produce a range of concentrations of bound analyte species that is sufficiently compressed relative to said range in said biological extract that interference by said high-abundance analyte species in said bound analyte species with the ability of said detection system to detect said low-abundance analyte species in said bound analyte species is substantially reduced and the number of analyte species detectable by said selected detection system is increased relative to the number of analytes species detectable by said selected detection system in said biological extract prior to contacting the sample of the biological extract with the library of binding moieties; and (b) isolating the analyte species that have bound to said binding moieties from components of said sample that did not so bind, and detecting by said selected detection system the analyte species that have so bound.