Assay Services

Assay Services:

The assay service division of Oxford Biomedical Research draws on over 25 years of biomedical research and assay development experience.  The company has received over 40 NIH grants and contracts to develop novel assays, and our capabilities span a broad range of academic and pharmaceutical needs.

We provide researchers with access to meticulous analyses employing sandwich and competitive immunoassays, as well as a range of enzyme and analyte assays using state of the art colorimetric, fluorescence and chemiluminescence methods.  These services are regularly provided to academic, pharmaceutical and government scientists to support in vitro studies as well as for specimens derived from studies that employ laboratory animals and human subjects.  Our primary expertise is in the measurement of biomarkers for antioxidant power, oxidative stress and inflammation using microplate-based assay systems.  Our repeat customers include the NIH, major pharmaceutical companies and academic research centers.

We understand that your study is unique and that it involves considerable time and expense even prior to obtaining samples for analysis.  We can perform a pilot study to help you adjust and optimize parameters prior to expanding your effort to a level that will provide the highest level of statistical significance.  Our technical representatives are prepared to work with you to design the best combination of assays to meet your needs and to quote for services based on your specific project.  We provide assistance with the determination of optimal conditions for specimen collection, the amount of specimen required as well as proper storage and shipping procedures.

To ensure the highest degree of reliability, the analysis of typical samples are performed using several replicates at multiple dilutions.  The accuracy and precision of the results are of paramount importance.  Multiple controls are included with each assay to ensure that the reported results are obtained within the optimal range of the standard curve.  All results are verified for accuracy and reliability prior to reporting.

Contract Manufacturing:

Oxford Biomedical Research, Inc. has been manufacturing sandwich and competitive EIA assays for nearly 30 years.  We can take your existing assay and optimize it for manufacturing and stability.  Our production line is scalable from pilot lots to large-scale production.  While we are capable of large production batches we’ve retained our ability to quickly modify protocols and production volumes.  Let our manufacturing experience speed up your product development.

Contract Research:

Oxford Biomedical Research, Inc. has developed a reputation for attentive service and support for contracted research.  Whether you have an assay you would like developed or have specialized needs to sub-contract, Oxford can provide novel solutions in a timely manner.  Our capabilities include:

Immunochemistry

Assay development with colorimetric, fluorometric or chemiluminescent detection

Assay services

Conjugate preparation

Physical Organic Chemistry

Organic synthesis

Isolation and characterization, including

Multiple chromatographic technologies

HPLC: analytical through preparative capabilities with diode-array detection

Molecular Biology

Construct design and cloning

Protein expression; Pilot to 10 Liter

Native protein chromatography and purification

Case Studies:

·       Developed a multistage chromatography purification protocol for the isolation of a natural product  from a complex biological source and tested for biological effects both in vitro  and in vivo in an animal model. 

·       Optimized an enzyme immunoassay protocol for a set of novel protein analytes, and scaled production from initial test lots to an ongoing production at increasing scale. Oxford Biomedical Research optimized the customers prototype immunoassay and was able to increase the sensitivity and shelf-life, and implement appropriate quality assurance for lot-to-lot reproducibility. The customer receives completed kits, ready for sale, on a monthly basis.

·       Analyzing patient samples for biomarkers of oxidative stress.  A medical school laboratory required  analysis of oxidative stress for a group of 60 subjects.  The study required measurement of five biomarkers from serum and urine samples.  Oxford Biomedical Research performed the services and was able to provide a final report, complete with statistical analyses, in less than one week.