Patent ID: 7563587

Claim:
A method for analysing a cell sample for the presence of cell surface-bound or intracellularly bound analytes, which method comprises of: (i) providing in at least one flow cell a solid support having thereon an array on a surface comprising thereof a plurality of different binding agents immobilized at defined positions on the surface, wherein each binding agent comprises one member of a specific binding pair; (ii) contacting the solid support array surface in the at least one flow cell with a set of different ligands each at a known concentration, each ligand comprising a first part capable of specifically binding to a specific analyte selected from cell surface-bound analytes and intracellularly bound analytes of a defined cell type, and a second part which comprises the other member of each specific binding pair, such that each ligand binds through its specific binding pair part to a specific position on the solid support surface whereupon the set of different ligands are passed in a laminar flow in the at least one flow cell; (iii) detecting the amount of binding of each ligand to the solid support array surface; (iv) incubating a cell sample-containing fluid, which contains cell fragments and intact cells, the membranes of the intact cells having been made permeable to ligands, with a set of ligands identical to that in step (ii), each ligand at the same concentration as in step (ii), to permit the ligands to bind to cell surface-bound or intracellularly bound analytes; (v) passing in a laminar flow the cell sample-containing fluid from step (iv) with a solid support surface according to step (i) to permit ligands that have not bound to cell surface-bound or intracellularly bound analytes to bind to the solid support surface; and (vi) detecting the amount of binding of each ligand to the solid support array surface obtained in step (v) and comparing that binding amount with the amount of binding of the same ligand obtained in step (iii), reduced binding in step (v) indicating the presence of ligand-specific cell surface-bound or intracellularly bound analytes in the cell sample.