Abstract: The invention provides a method capable of determining the presence or absence of each of a plurality of different ligands in a specimen. The specimen is contacted with a predetermined number of different homogeneous populations of fluorescence beads having one or more predetermined antiligands affixed to their surface. The specimen and bead mixture is analyzed using a means having a single parameter for measuring the fluorescence per ligand to determine the number of nonagglutinated beads, the number of agglutinated beads, the number of bead aggregates, and for each aggregate, the number of beads it comprises. This information is used to correlate the presence or absence in the specimen of each of the different ligands analyzed for. The method of the invention thus provides for the simultaneous determination of a predetermined number of ligands in a specimen using only a single bead contacting step.

Abstract: The invention provides a method capable of determining the presence or absence of each of a plurality of different ligands in a specimen. The specimen is contacted with a predetermined number of different homogenous populations of fluorescent beads having one or more predetermined antiligands affixed to their surface. The specimen and bead mixture is analyzed using a means having a single parameter of measuring fluorescence per ligand to determine the number of non-agglutinated beads, the number of agglutinated beads, the number of bead aggregates, and for each aggregate, the number of beads its comprises. This information is used to correlate the presence or absence in the specimen of each of the different ligands analyzed for. The method of the invention thus provides for the simultaneous determination of a predetermined number of ligands in a specimen using only a single bead contacting step.