The Laboratory is located within the Anthropology Department at Northwestern University, and is comprised of 1,500 square feet of Biosafety Level 2 certified wet-lab space. The laboratory is fully equipped to support immunoassay analysis of human blood, saliva, and urine, as well as the assessment of body composition, energy expenditure, and cardio- vascular function.  Resources are also available for data analysis. 

The laboratory has invested in the next generation of immunoassay technology with the Luminex flow analyzer.  Instead of coating plates or tubes with capture antibody, this immunoassay system uses polystyrene microspheres with unique fluorescent signatures as the solid phase.  Capture antibody is bound to the microspheres, and then incubated with the sample and reporter antibody.  The microspheres pass single-file through a flow cytometer, which identifies the microsphere and quantifies the amount of analyte bound to its surface.  Currently, 100 bead sets are available, thereby allowing one to measure—in theory—up to 100 different analytes in the same sample, at the same time, using 100 different sets of beads.  When compared to traditional ELISA approaches, the Luminex procedure appears to be more accurate, uses less sample, and saves time and money, particularly when multiple analytes are simultaneously measured.  The sensitivity and low sample volume required for this method promise to expand the range of factors that can be measured in saliva and whole blood spots from finger pricks.