Table 3.
Comparison of Quantitative Survival of Motor Neuron Protein Assays
| Approach | Dynamic range | Throughput | Equipment costs | Cost/sample | Usable matrices | Screening use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western blota (e.g., LI-COR Odyssey) | 1.3–5,000 ng/mL | Low | >$50K | $1–5 | Whole blood, cell lysates, PBMCs, Br, L, M, SC, SK | New assay validation, spot-check hit confirmation |
| ELISA | 25–3,200 pg/mL | Medium–high | <$2K | <$2–15 | Cell lysates, PBMCs, Br, L, M, SC, SK | Secondary to tertiary screen |
| FRET (Cisbio) | 3–100 ng/mL | Medium–high | <$50K | <$2 | Cell lysates, PBMCs, Br, L, M, SC, SK | Primary to tertiary screen |
| ECL (MSD) | 3–10,000 pg/mL | Medium–high | >$100K | $20–30 | Whole blood, cell lysates, PBMCs, Br, L, M, SC, SK | Secondary to tertiary screen |
| SPR | 25–10,000 ng/mL | High | >$100K | <$1 | Cell lysates | Characterizing new antibodies and SMN standards |
| Mass-speca | 10–100,000 ng/mL | Low | >$100K | >$100 | Cell lysates? | Characterization of SMN, biomarker discovery |
| Bead-baseda (Luminex) | 25–50,000 pg/mL | Medium | >$100K | <$1 | Cell lysates, PBMCs, Br, L, M, SC, SK | Secondary to tertiary screen |
The details reported in this table are for the quantitative versions of these assays, for example, LI-COR Odyssey systems.
aIn some cases, the performance criteria displayed relate to the theoretical ranges reported by researchers and vendors rather than from SMN-specific experiments.
ECL, electrochemiluminescence; ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; FRET, fluorescence resonance energy transfer; PBMC, peripheral blood mononucleated cell; SPR, surface plasmon resonance.