Gnificance and necessity. As a promising method for selective and sensitive

Gnificance and necessity. As a promising method for selective and sensitive analysis, immunoassays have become indispensable analytical tools in a wide range of applications, including environmental monitoring, clinical diagnosis and food safety [20]. Microcystin-LR site Immunological methods, which are suitable for both laboratory and field analysis, provide a unique opportunity to screen large numbers of samples quickly and effectively. Traditional immunoassays such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are invariably considered as the gold standard for single analyte measurement. The sensitivity of an ELISA is relatively high, but it has some drawbacks, including numerous washing and preparation steps, large sample volumes, small surface area and long diffusion time required for antigenantibody binding. Several ELISAs were developed independently for the detection of pesticides [21?4]. However, with the demand for multiplexing 16574785 capability, shorter analysis time, smaller sample volume and higher sensitivity, a number of new techniques are being explored to perform immunoassays [25]. Recently, suspension arrays have increasingly gained attention in multiplex analysis of biomarkers, drug screening, food and environmental monitoring [26?2]. Compared with the common single-analyte assays, the multi-analyte suspension array using encoded microbeads as solid supports has the advantages of enhanced detection throughput, shortened analytical time, decreased sampling volume, improved test efficiency, reduced cost and multiplexing capability [33?5]. The development of this suspension array technologyDetection of Pesticides with a Suspension Arrayrelies on the design and manufacture of microcarriers, which have both molecular binding abilities and intrinsic identity signatures. In most proposed technologies, the labels are based on fluorescent dyes [36] or quantum dots [37?9]. The use of fluorescence dyes limits the number of distinguishable probes and potentially interferes with the signal from the labeling molecules, while quantum dots have drawbacks with respect to biotoxicity and leakage [40]. In our work, silica colloidal crystal beads (SCCBs) were used as supports in a suspension array. These were encoded by the characteristic reflection peak originating from the stop-band of colloid crystal [40]. The code, whose peak position is based on a periodic structure, is very stable and the fluorescent background is low. Additionally, the use of SCCBs greatly improves the sensitivity of the suspension array, because their porous structure provides a higher surface-to-volume, which can further enhance the extent of reactions. In this paper, we report on a photonic suspension array based on SCCBs for multiplex detection of organophosphorus pesticides (using FNT and CLT as model analytes). The selected pesticides have become important pesticides for controlling insects and acarids in many agricultural crops in China because most highly toxic and high-residue organophosphate pesticides, for example, methamidophos, parathion, and methyl parathion, were banned for use on crops by the Chinese government. FNT [O,O-dimethyl O-(3-methyl-4-nitrophenyl)-phosphorothioate], as a contact insecticide and selective acaricide, is a contact-acting organophosphorus pesticide that inhibits acetyl cholinesterase activity, thus disrupting the nervous system [41]. It is widely used against PS 1145 site insect pests and mites on cereals, cotton, orchard fruits, rice, vegetables and forests [42].Gnificance and necessity. As a promising method for selective and sensitive analysis, immunoassays have become indispensable analytical tools in a wide range of applications, including environmental monitoring, clinical diagnosis and food safety [20]. Immunological methods, which are suitable for both laboratory and field analysis, provide a unique opportunity to screen large numbers of samples quickly and effectively. Traditional immunoassays such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are invariably considered as the gold standard for single analyte measurement. The sensitivity of an ELISA is relatively high, but it has some drawbacks, including numerous washing and preparation steps, large sample volumes, small surface area and long diffusion time required for antigenantibody binding. Several ELISAs were developed independently for the detection of pesticides [21?4]. However, with the demand for multiplexing 16574785 capability, shorter analysis time, smaller sample volume and higher sensitivity, a number of new techniques are being explored to perform immunoassays [25]. Recently, suspension arrays have increasingly gained attention in multiplex analysis of biomarkers, drug screening, food and environmental monitoring [26?2]. Compared with the common single-analyte assays, the multi-analyte suspension array using encoded microbeads as solid supports has the advantages of enhanced detection throughput, shortened analytical time, decreased sampling volume, improved test efficiency, reduced cost and multiplexing capability [33?5]. The development of this suspension array technologyDetection of Pesticides with a Suspension Arrayrelies on the design and manufacture of microcarriers, which have both molecular binding abilities and intrinsic identity signatures. In most proposed technologies, the labels are based on fluorescent dyes [36] or quantum dots [37?9]. The use of fluorescence dyes limits the number of distinguishable probes and potentially interferes with the signal from the labeling molecules, while quantum dots have drawbacks with respect to biotoxicity and leakage [40]. In our work, silica colloidal crystal beads (SCCBs) were used as supports in a suspension array. These were encoded by the characteristic reflection peak originating from the stop-band of colloid crystal [40]. The code, whose peak position is based on a periodic structure, is very stable and the fluorescent background is low. Additionally, the use of SCCBs greatly improves the sensitivity of the suspension array, because their porous structure provides a higher surface-to-volume, which can further enhance the extent of reactions. In this paper, we report on a photonic suspension array based on SCCBs for multiplex detection of organophosphorus pesticides (using FNT and CLT as model analytes). The selected pesticides have become important pesticides for controlling insects and acarids in many agricultural crops in China because most highly toxic and high-residue organophosphate pesticides, for example, methamidophos, parathion, and methyl parathion, were banned for use on crops by the Chinese government. FNT [O,O-dimethyl O-(3-methyl-4-nitrophenyl)-phosphorothioate], as a contact insecticide and selective acaricide, is a contact-acting organophosphorus pesticide that inhibits acetyl cholinesterase activity, thus disrupting the nervous system [41]. It is widely used against insect pests and mites on cereals, cotton, orchard fruits, rice, vegetables and forests [42].