Start with your matrix
Tell us what you are collecting, the volumes involved, the buffers and additives, and the markers you care about. We will give you a straight view on feasibility before anything is committed. That reply comes within one working day.
If we do not think it will work, we will tell you before you have paid for anything.
WHAT IS novel matrix validation
Built for the matrices conventional workflows leave behind
the problem
Why difficult matrices defeat conventional assays
The same problems recur across almost every unconventional sample type, in different combinations.
Analytes present at a fraction of their plasma concentration, often at or below the limit of detection of a conventional immunoassay.
Microlitres, or in some collection formats nanograms of total protein, against panels designed for hundreds of microlitres of serum.
Uncontrolled and unknowable. Lavage saline, elution buffer, breath condensation, with no denominator you can fully trust.
Detergents, reducing agents, protease inhibitors and mucins. All necessary to make the sample handleable, all hostile to antibody-based detection.
Nothing published to compare against, no expected ranges, no prior evidence that the markers you want are even present.
There are three usual ways out: dilute the sample, narrow the panel, or decline the project. All three throw away the reason you chose the matrix in the first place.
why novel matrix validation
From unproven matrix to published evidence
Exhaled breath condensate
Dermal interstitial fluid
Building a collection device and need proof it works? Talk to us early, while your protocol and sample handling can still change.
Read the application notes
FOR DEVICE DEVELOPERS
Working with device manufacturers
If you’re developing a collection device, you face a frustrating problem. When a marker doesn’t show up in your data, you can’t tell whether the device failed to collect it or the assay failed to detect it. One of those answers says your device doesn’t work, even when it does.
Separate device performance from assay limits
Ultra-sensitive detection takes the assay largely out of the equation. If a marker is missing, it is far more likely to reflect the sample than the measurement. That turns your device from something you argue for into something you can evidence.
A partner for unproven matrices
Validating new collection devices is a core part of what we do. We take on matrices with no established method and validate the approach properly, giving you data you can put in front of investors, regulators and pharma partners.
how it works
How we validate a new matrix
A novel matrix is a method development problem, and we treat it as one. The sequence below is how a sample type nobody has measured before becomes data you can publish.
01
Feasibility assessment
Before anything is committed, we look at what you are collecting, the volumes involved, buffers and additives, and the markers you care about. If it will not work, you hear that here, before any money is committed.
02
Single-plate pilot
We test the matrix on one plate before anyone commits to a full cohort. It is the smallest commitment that gives a real answer, and it is priced as a way in.
03
Normalisation strategy
EBC presents a normalisation challenge: droplet formation varies between individuals. Two subjects breathing the same protocol do not necessarily dilute their airway lining fluid to the same degree. Resolve it before the dataset is interpreted.
04
Platform selection
Whether the answer is broad ultra-sensitive profiling, defined single-plex quantification, validated multiplex, or bespoke matrix validation.
Matrices we work in
From the nose to the alveolus, the skin surface to the dermis, and from preclinical models to clinical cohorts.
Exhaled breath condensate
Validated in-house on our own collection device
Nasal lining fluid
Non-invasive sampling of the upper airway
Sputum
Analysed neat, without dilution
Broad profiling from a single, precious sample
Tracheal aspirate
Lower-airway sampling in intubated patients
Dermal interstitial fluid
Microneedle collection, validated in-house with a device developer
Skin tape strips
Non-invasive sampling of the stratum corneum
Tear fluid
Non-invasive sampling of the ocular surface
Aqueous humour
Direct measurement from the eye’s anterior chamber
Dried blood spots
Dried plasma spots
Cerebrospinal fluid
Saliva
Synovial fluid
Stool
Cells, tissues and vesicles
Brain and tissue lysates
Cell culture extracts
Total extracellular vesicles
Cell-derived extracellular vesicles
Non-human primate plasma and CSF
Established matrices
Specialist and conventional samples run on the same platforms, in the same laboratory, so a study mixing both never needs to be split across providers.
We know collection from the device side
Quality, traceability and study readiness
Documented SOPs
Full sample chain of custody
GCP-compliant workflows
HTA licence 12818, the UK framework governing the storage and use of human tissue
Aligned to ISO 15189, the international standard for medical laboratories
For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
Discuss your matrix with a scientist
Send us your matrix, volumes, collection method and the markers that matter.
We will give you a straight view on feasibility, the right platform and a timeline before you commit anything, including the answer that it cannot be done, if that is the answer.