‘Super beads’ invention automates powerful diagnostic technique

The “super beads” innovation – developed completely in-house by Roche scientists – makes possible the ability to bring mass spectrometry to the routine laboratory, opening up its benefits to more clinicians and patients around the world.

Not only does the technology simplify the complicated testing process, it also makes it more environmentally sustainable with much less plastic waste.

Mass spectrometry is a technique used to identify and quantify the different molecules in a sample by analysing its physicochemical properties. Think of it as a super-powered detective that can tell you exactly what’s in a substance and how much of each component is present.

Mass spectrometry is incredibly sensitive and specific and can be used in a variety of fields ranging from medicine and environmental science to food safety and forensics. In healthcare, it can identify steroid hormones and vitamins to help diagnose diseases. It also can be used for therapeutic drug monitoring and drug abuse testing.

One example of its use might be for a patient who recently received an organ transplant and is receiving immunosuppressant drugs. Mass spectrometry can be used to test the drug’s therapeutic balance in the patient’s blood in order to reduce the risk of organ rejection and prevent an overdose.

This type of benefit is one reason Roche scientists wanted to simplify mass spectrometry and make it more universally accessible. Previously, the testing procedure was primarily a manual process, requiring highly educated and trained personnel. It is so complex that it can only be handled by a limited number of dedicated and specialised lab professionals.

Automating the testing workflow involves multiple innovations in chemistry, biology, bioinformatics and hardware development, all working in tandem. But, it would not be possible without the invention of paramagnetic particles, otherwise known as “super beads.”

These “super beads” are used in the sample preparation step, where the element to be analysed must be separated from the rest of the fluid. They have unique magnetic properties and are equipped with custom binding molecules that allow for the capturing of so-called analytes in bodily fluid with only tiny amounts of a single reagent. The trick was designing porous beads with entry channels like a sponge, where only the wanted molecules come in and the others stay out.

Roche scientists invented two types of beads – generic and specific – and both are needed to automate mass spectrometry. Generic polymer-coated beads catch multiple analytes. They work like a fleece pullover in a smoky restaurant, where the fabric “catches” multiple odours, so the next day you can still smell french fries and smoke. 

More precise “catchers,” though, are needed to measure very low-concentrated analytes, such as steroids and vitamin D. This requires specific antibody-coated beads, which can extract exactly the desired analyte out of a complex patient sample.

Paramagnetic particle-based sample preparation requires only micrograms of reagents and thus produces much less plastic waste. Over the course of nine years, the new technique in one workflow would be estimated to generate just 2 tons of particle waste compared to approximately 2,000 tons of plastic waste using standard techniques.

The development process was an adventure, says Dieter Heindl, a Roche Diagnostics chemist: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, from a chemistry perspective,” he says. “It took courage and passion. We were not risk-shy. This is really our Roche way.”

The beads technology was refined over the course of 10+ years, originally by a team of about 10 scientists who affectionately called themselves, “The Beadles.” Ultimately, hundreds of scientists were involved in making it all happen.

Rock on, Roche innovators.