Why Researchers Love xMAP® Technology

With more than 54,000 cited papers, xMAP® is the world’s most used multiplexing technology

Since the breakthrough that led to the development of xMAP® Technology—the original idea that using different fluorophore colors could enable the detection of more than one analyte at a time—we have continued to build on what xMAP Technology can do, working with researchers from around the world to streamline immunoassays, expand discovery, and support innovation.

xMAP multiplexing technology has been in labs for more than 25 years, which seems like a lifetime in a field that advances as quickly as ours does. With continued investment and innovation, however, xMAP Technology has kept pace with the evolving needs of the researchers who use it—our newest addition to the xMAP lineup, xMAP® INTELLIFLEX, is an excellent example of that. Today, scientists using xMAP systems can detect as many as 500 analytes in a single reaction.

Researchers have used xMAP for novel applications across broad research areas. Some of its prominent applications include biomarker discovery and profiling, gene expression, protein quantification, DNA barcoding, mapping signaling networks, vaccine development, cancer research, pathogen detection, and HLA typing for transplants.

We asked and our xMAP users answered—why do you love xMAP?

We recently connected with scientists in the xMAP Community and asked them to share their thoughts on how xMAP Technology has made a difference to them, and we were humbled by the responses.

Brian McFarlin, PhD, Professor, Associate Dean, and co-director of the Applied Physiology Lab at the University of North Texas uses xMAP Technology to explore inflammatory pathways and their associated molecules. “The power of xMAP is not being restricted to a small set of markers, but being able to expand to include novel biomarkers without impacting throughput or budget,” he said.

One of the most important factors for his lab is reducing the time to get results. “We used to spend weeks just analyzing three cytokines, but now we can spend two days and analyze up to 100 cytokines on thousands of samples,” he told us. Dr. McFarlin recommends that xMAP users embrace automation if possible—even if it’s just a good electronic repeater pipette. He also encourages users to reach out to Luminex’s Field Application Scientists with questions. “Take advantage of their knowledge of xMAP,” he said. “They want to help!”

Thomas Joos, PhD, Deputy Managing Director of the Natural and Medical Sciences Institute (NMI) in Germany, has a long history with xMAP Technology. “It is our workhorse for immunoassays at NMI,” where more than 35 scientists, technicians, and engineers use it due to its speed, ease of use, multiplexing capabilities, and cost-effectiveness. They rely on it for serological assays, classical sandwich immunoassays, DigiWest® protein profiling services, sequential multiplex analyte capture, and co-immunoprecipitation. Dr Joos and his team have published more than 100 papers using xMAP Technology—with such an impressive track record, we can’t wait to see what else this talented team accomplishes in the future!

Building on more than 25 years of innovation

With a rich history of enabling groundbreaking research, we’re excited to unveil the latest development in multiplexing—the xMAP INTELLIFLEX. This new system is a modern, compact, flow-based platform intended for Research Use Only. Featuring an embedded PC and an intuitive touchscreen interface, it’s the same versatile multiplexing platform that researchers trust, with the added dimension of dual reporter analysis and the widest dynamic range of any xMAP platform.

Want to learn more? Visit our website to see all of these exciting new features!

With more than 54,000 cited papers, xMAP® is the world’s most used multiplexing technology

We asked and our xMAP users answered—why do you love xMAP?

Building on more than 25 years of innovation

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