FAQ

Eos BioAnalytics offers biological sample processing services. But what does that mean? It means that if you want to measure hormones or immunological proteins in saliva or serum / plasma, you can send your samples to Eos BioAnalytics to be processed. Scientists at Eos BioAnalytics will then organize your data and send them back to you.

Depending on which analyte(s) you are interested in capturing, we either use electrochemiluminescence or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to assay your samples. An assay is just simply a procedure for measuring your desired analytes in each sample. We purchase assay kits directly from manufacturers and ‘read’ them on either a QUICKPLEX SQ 120 (Meso Scale Discovery; electrochemiluminescence) or a FLUOstar™ Omega Microplate Reader (BMG LabTech; ELISAs). 

The assays broadly work by allowing ‘capture’ antibodies coated at the bottom of a 96-well plate to bind to the target analyte. ‘Detection’ antibodies conjugated with an enzyme or another tag are then added, which also bind to the analyte. After a few additional steps, a change in color (most ELISAs) or electrical signal (electrochemiluminescence) in each sample well is measured on a plate reader and compared against a standard curve of known values. This produces a precise estimate of the amount of a specific analyte present in each sample. For information about the reliability and precision of specific assays, feel free to e-mail us at bioanalytics@tcu.edu.

When we talk about analytes, we are just referring to hormones, immunological proteins, and any other biomarkers that can be measured in biological samples (i.e., saliva and serum / plasma). There are numerous benefits to incorporating biological measures in your research program. For example, doing so may help scientists interested in understanding the biological underpinnings of behaviors like risk-taking or cooperation. Adding biological measures may also help scientists interested in studying how environmental factors, like stress, influence immune and endocrine function. Still other scientists might benefit from using biological measures to better understand the course of human development or aging. In sum, we believe at Eos BioAnalytics that scientists from all sorts of different backgrounds can enrich their research by including biological measures. With this in mind, our goal is to make collecting and processing biological samples as easy, affordable, and accessible as possible.

The scientists at Eos BioAnalytics have a wealth of experience in measuring a variety of different analytes – including hormones and immunological proteins (e.g., cytokines and chemokines) – in both saliva and serum / plasma samples. If you already know which analyte(s) that you are interested in having measured, check out our full list of offerings on our See Full Product List page. If you are new to bioanalytics and would like a little guidance selecting your analytes, feel free to visit our Help Me Choose My Measures page. There, we group analytes by constructs, like ‘stress’ and ‘health / inflammation.’

If your desired analyte is not listed on our website, feel free to contact us at bioanalytics@tcu.edu. We are willing to work with our customers to find a personalized solution and may be able to assay additional analytes not listed on the website.

Currently, Eos BioAnalytics only processes saliva samples collected via passive drool and plasma or serum samples, as these are our scientists’ areas of expertise. While we aim to add additional sample types in the future – such as urine or dried blood spots – we will only do so when our methods of processing those samples have been thoroughly validated, and then validated again (and again) for each of our analytes. This is the high standard we hold for ourselves at Eos BioAnalytics. For more information about how to collect, store, and ship saliva and serum / plasma samples, feel free to check out our Research Resources pages.

At Eos BioAnalytics, we believe in transparency and efficiency. Thus, you can receive a free, instant quote in our Quote Builder by clicking on the Start Building an Instant Quote button on our Homepage. The prices for our services vary by both analyte and sample type. So, the best way to receive a price estimate is to generate an instant quote using the above process. Note that the price you are quoted on your instant quote is the highest that you will pay. There may be additional promotional discounts that you receive at the time of placing your order, but your price will NOT increase. If you want to find out if you are eligible for additional discounts, you may also contact us at bioanalytics@tcu.edu. 

There are two main pathways for generating instant quotes that begin on our Assays We Perform page:

• If you are an experienced researcher and know which analytes you desire to measure, click on the ‘Start Building My Instant Quote!’ button, which will take you to the full product list page to add analytes*. After you add all of your desired analytes, you continue to your cart which will take you to the Quote Builder where you add information about the number of participants and timepoints. All you do next is click on ‘Generate Instant Quote’ and you will receive both your price estimate and a .pdf with your official quote. 
• If you are new to biological measures, you can click on the ‘Help Me Choose My Measures’ button which will show you a list of constructs (e.g., sexual arousal, stress, health / inflammation). If you click on a construct, you will be shown a list of analytes often used to study that construct. After you add your desired analytes, continue to your cart to use the Quote Builder (see also above bullet point) to receive your instant quote. 

*You can also bypass this first step and go straight to the See Full List of Analytes page.

For all of our assays, estimates of the amount of analyte present in a sample are generated using a four-parameter logistic fit based on the standard curve. This is the industry gold standard statistical procedure for estimating sample values. 

Unless the customer requests otherwise, we always plate samples in duplicate. This just means that we plate the same volume of each sample in two separate wells of a 96-well plate. Doing so allows us to determine the reliability of the estimate using a coefficient of variation (CV). CVs are just the standard deviation of the values divided by the mean. We also calculate the average CVs for all samples, standards, and controls measured (intra-assay CVs), as well as the CV of known value across all plates used to measure that analyte (inter-assay CVs). These values should be included in any publications based on the data. 

In summary, you will receive the following data in an Excel file:

• Values for each duplicate of a sample, standard, or control
• The average of the two duplicates of a sample, standard, or control
• The CV for the two duplicates of a sample, standard, or control
• The intra-assay CV
• The inter-assay CV
• The standard curve fit value

At Eos BioAnalytics, we have years of experience collecting and shipping biological samples. We summarize what we’ve learned for our customers on our Research Resources pages, which include information about best practices for saliva collection and blood collection, as well as information about how to label and store our samples and ship your samples.
We ask that you read through these pages carefully as they contain specific instructions about how to ensure the integrity of your samples. If these instructions are not followed, we cannot guarantee the reliability of your results.

There are two options for sending us your saliva samples. First, you can centrifuge your samples following tube manufacturer instructions or our Best Practices for Saliva Collection document and extract the supernatant (aqueous layer at top of sample) to ship to us. The second option is to send your saliva samples without centrifuging them and we will complete this step for an additional cost. Please also see our How to Label and Store Samples and How to Ship Your Samples pages for additional information. 

Eos BioAnalytics is a non-profit organization run by scientists, for scientists. Everyone on our staff is a scientist; we have no sales or marketing teams. The scientists at Eos BioAnalytics have years of experience navigating the tricky waters of academia and multidisciplinary research. We aim to simplify the process of collecting biological data to make them accessible to scientists of all backgrounds. 

We use state-of-the-art equipment and methods at Eos BioAnalytics and are constantly refining and validating our techniques to offer you the most reliable and accurate data possible. Like we often say, “We are small, but mighty.” What that really means for our customers is that we are able to offer a personalized and personable experience without compromising quality. For more information about our company, feel free to check out the Eos BioAnalytics Advantage page. 

Eos BioAnalytics does not currently sell assay kits to customers. We use state-of-the-art electrochemiluminescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) purchased directly from manufacturers to assay samples. For more information about the technologies we use to process samples, please visit our Eos BioAnalytics Advantage page.

Multiplexing is simply measuring multiple analytes simultaneously in a given sample. We use electrochemiluminescence to multiplex samples (QUICKPLEX SQ 120, Meso Scale Discovery). Currently, we will only multiplex samples for cytokines and chemokines (see Full Product List and Glossary). 

When you add multiple cytokines or chemokines to your cart, we automatically assume that you want these multiplexed, as it is considerably cheaper for you than assaying these analytes separately. If you would like for us to assay these analytes separately, let us know at bioanalytics@tcu.edu and we will generate an updated quote!

Some of the immunological proteins (i.e., cytokines and chemokines) that we can measure occur in very low amounts in the serum and plasma of healthy people. Accordingly, if your samples were collected from healthy individuals, standard assays may not be sensitive enough to capture these analytes. We offer the possibility of using ultra-sensitive assays to measure these analytes. For more information about these ultra-sensitive assays and whether you should consider using them, feel free to contact us at bioanalytics@tcu.edu.

While we do not yet have a customer reviews page, we do have a discussion forum where you can interface both with other customers and our scientists. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us at bioanalytics@tcu.edu. 

We offer free consultations for anybody interested in using our services. To schedule a consultation, contact us at bioanalytics@tcu.edu and you will be contacted by a team member.