Are these panels suitable for diagnostic use in infectious disease?

No. All infectious disease panels are for research use only (RUO). They are suitable for vaccine immunogenicity research, viral immune response characterization, preclinical NHP studies, and cohort research. They are not validated for clinical diagnostic procedures, infection diagnosis, or patient management decisions.

Home
Platform
MSD Multiplex Assay Services
MSD Infectious Disease & Viral Assays

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) · Infectious Disease & Vaccine Research

MSD Infectious Disease & Vaccine Research Assay Services

Multiplex electrochemiluminescence panels for viral immune response profiling, vaccine serology, cytokine storm monitoring, and oncolytic virus research — from focused 4-plex infection panels to the 20-plex viral immune response platform, across human and non-human primate models.

Infectious disease research demands assays that capture the full arc of the immune response: early innate cytokine and interferon signatures, adaptive T-cell polarization, serological evidence of vaccine-induced antibody responses, and the cytokine storm that marks severe infection. Our MSD infectious disease panels are purpose-built for each of these questions — viral antigen serology panels for vaccine immunogenicity, cytokine/chemokine panels for immune response characterization, and specialized panels for emerging pathogens (COVID-19, mpox, influenza). For preclinical vaccine development, NHP-qualified panels enable translational immunogenicity assessment on the same platform used for human clinical samples — eliminating cross-platform variability between preclinical and clinical immunogenicity data.

14+

Infectious Disease Panels

4–20

Plex Range

Species (Human, NHP)

25 µL

Sample Per Well

Explore Panels Request a Quote

Why MSD for Infectious Disease Research?

The immune response to infection spans four interconnected dimensions: innate cytokine and interferon release within hours, chemokine-directed immune cell recruitment, adaptive T-cell polarization over days to weeks, and serological antibody responses marking immunological memory. Capturing this full arc requires more than a single cytokine panel — it requires viral antigen serology for vaccine readouts, cytokine panels for immune response phenotyping, and interferon-specific assays for early innate response characterization.

Key Advantages for Infectious Disease Research

Viral antigen serology panels: pre-configured panels for influenza HA (multiple strains), RSV pre-fusion F, and orthopoxvirus (MPXV, VACV) antigens — direct serological readouts for vaccine immunogenicity studies
Viral immune response profiling: 4-plex to 20-plex cytokine/chemokine panels capturing the innate-to-adaptive immune cascade — from early IFN-α/β/γ through IL-6/TNF-α to T-cell polarization cytokines
Interferon-specific assays: dedicated 4-plex panel (IFN-γ, IL-29/IFN-λ1, IFN-α2a, IFN-β) for characterizing the type I/II/III interferon response — the critical first line of antiviral immunity
NHP translational models: species-matched infectious disease panels for cynomolgus and rhesus macaques — enabling preclinical-to-clinical immunogenicity bridging on the same ECL platform
Emerging pathogen readiness: panel configurations for COVID-19, mpox, and influenza enable rapid deployment for outbreak research — contact us for custom antigen panel development against emerging pathogens

MSD Infectious Disease Immune Response Profiling

MSD multiplex analysis of viral immune responses: simultaneous quantification of cytokines, chemokines, interferons, and viral antigen-specific antibodies from 25 µL of serum or plasma.

Infectious Disease & Vaccine Research Panel Portfolio

14+ pre-configured MSD panels spanning viral serology, cytokine profiling, and immune response characterization for human and NHP.

Panel	Plex	Analytes	Species	Application
Influenza/RSV Serology 6-Plex Panel 1	6	RSV Pre-Fusion F, Flu B/Phuket HA, Flu B/Brisbane HA, Flu A/Shanghai H7, Flu A/Michigan H1, Flu A/Hong Kong H3	Human	Influenza vaccine immunogenicity
Influenza/RSV Serology 6-Plex Panel 2 & 3	6	Variant strain-specific HA antigen configurations	Human	Strain-specific vaccine response
Orthopoxvirus Serology 10-Plex	10	MPXV A29L, A35R, B6R, E8L, M1R, VACV A27L, A33R, B5R, D8L, L1R	Human	Mpox/Vaccinia vaccine research
COVID-19 Research 4-Plex	4	IFN-γ, IL-6, IFN-β, Pentraxin 3	Human	COVID-19 immune response
Virus Infection 4/7/9-Plex	4–9	IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, TNF-α	Human	General viral immune monitoring
Virus Research 20-Plex	20	G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-α2a, IFN-β, IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-1RA, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12p70, IP-10, MCP-1, MIP-1α, TNF-α, VEGF-A	Human	Broad viral immune profiling
Interferon 4-Plex	4	IFN-γ, IL-29/IFN-λ1, IFN-α2a, IFN-β	Human	Type I/II/III IFN response
NHP Virus Research 19-Plex	19	G-CSF, GM-CSF, IFN-α2a, IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-1RA, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-9, IL-10, IL-12p70, IP-10, MCP-1, MIP-1α, TNF-α, VEGF-A	NHP	Preclinical vaccine studies
NHP Infection 3/5/6-Plex	3–6	IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10	NHP	NHP infection model monitoring
Oncolytic Virus Research 12-Plex	12	CTLA-4, IFN-α2a, IFN-β, IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-2Rα, IL-6, IL-8, IP-10, LAG3, MIP-1α, PD-1, TIGIT	Human	Oncolytic virotherapy research

Panel availability confirmed during project consultation. Custom antigen panels for emerging pathogens can be developed via U-PLEX or R-PLEX. The MSD Orthopoxvirus 10-Plex has been validated in published research for serological profiling of mpox and vaccinia antibody responses (J Clin Microbiol, 2025). All services are for research use only.

Research Applications

Vaccine Immunogenicity

Viral antigen serology panels directly quantify antibody responses to specific vaccine antigens — HA strain-specific responses for influenza vaccines, RSV pre-fusion F for RSV vaccines, and MPXV/VACV antigens for poxvirus vaccines. Multiplex format enables simultaneous assessment of multi-strain or multi-valent vaccine responses from a single sample.

Viral Immune Response Profiling

Cytokine and interferon panels capture the full innate-to-adaptive immune cascade during viral infection — early IFN-α/β/λ responses within hours, IL-6/TNF-α/IL-1β inflammatory surge, chemokine-mediated immune cell recruitment, and T-cell polarization cytokines reflecting adaptive immunity. The 20-Plex provides the broadest single-well coverage.

Cytokine Storm & Severe Infection

Severe viral infections — COVID-19, influenza, EBV-associated HLH — can trigger cytokine release syndrome (CRS) with IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, IFN-γ, and IL-8 elevations. Serial multiplex monitoring captures the trajectory and magnitude of the cytokine storm, supporting severity stratification and therapeutic response assessment in research contexts.

Preclinical NHP Models

NHP-qualified infectious disease panels enable translational immunogenicity and efficacy studies in cynomolgus and rhesus macaques. The same ECL platform used for NHP preclinical studies is used for human clinical samples — eliminating cross-platform variability in vaccine immunogenicity bridging.

Oncolytic Virotherapy

The oncolytic virus 12-Plex combines immune checkpoint markers (PD-1, CTLA-4, LAG3, TIGIT) with antiviral cytokines (IFN-α/β/γ) and inflammatory mediators — capturing the dual immunological effects of oncolytic viruses: direct antiviral immune activation and checkpoint-mediated anti-tumor immunity.

Emerging Pathogen Readiness

Pre-configured panels for COVID-19, mpox, and influenza provide immediate research capability for outbreak pathogens. For novel emerging pathogens, custom U-PLEX or R-PLEX panels can be developed from recombinant antigens — contact us to discuss rapid deployment timelines.

Electrochemiluminescence for Infectious Disease Research

Analytical Advantages for Virology

Multiplex serology: simultaneously quantify antibodies against 6–10 viral antigens in one well — enabling comprehensive vaccine immunogenicity profiling from minimal sample volume
IFN subtyping: the Interferon 4-Plex distinguishes type I (IFN-α2a, IFN-β), type II (IFN-γ), and type III (IFN-λ1/IL-29) responses — critical for characterizing the innate antiviral response that determines infection outcome
NHP-Human translational continuity: species-matched panels on the same platform eliminate cross-platform variability when bridging from preclinical NHP efficacy to clinical immunogenicity
25 µL for serology + cytokines: a single sample can support both antigen-specific antibody and cytokine profiling — critical for pediatric vaccine studies and serial sampling in NHP models

Infectious Disease Panel Specifications

TechnologyMSD V-PLEX · U-PLEX

Plex Range4–20 analytes per well

Sample Volume25 µL per panel

Sample TypesSerum, EDTA Plasma, CSF

SpeciesHuman, NHP

Serology + CytokinesSame platform for antibody + cytokine readouts

Throughput40 samples/plate (duplicate)

Emerging PathogensU-PLEX rapid custom configuration

Serology vs Cytokine Profiling

Complementary dimensions of the anti-viral immune response

Antigen-Specific AntibodiesMSD Serology

Innate IFN ResponseMSD IFN 4-Plex

Cytokine Storm ProfileMSD 20-Plex

T-Cell PolarizationMSD Cytokine Panels

Combined serology + cytokine panels capture the full immune response arc — antibody-mediated memory + innate-to-adaptive cytokine cascade. For research use only.

Sample Requirements

Serum

Standard SST collection for antibody-based serology panels. 25 µL per well. For vaccine studies: pre-immune and post-vaccination timepoints collected under consistent conditions. Supported by all MSD serology and viral antigen panels.

EDTA Plasma

Preferred for cytokine and chemokine panels. Process within 1 hour of collection at 4°C, aliquot into polypropylene cryovials, freeze at −80°C. For cytokine storm assessment: serial timepoints capturing the acute phase (days 0–7 post-infection or post-treatment).

CSF

For neurotropic virus research, meningitis/encephalitis studies, and CNS cytokine profiling. Collect in polypropylene tubes, centrifuge at 2,000×g for 10 min at 4°C, aliquot, and freeze at −80°C. Low-volume compatible — 25 µL per panel.

Shipping: Dry ice, overnight courier. BSL-2 samples must be inactivated per institutional protocol before shipping. Contact us for BSL-2/BSL-3 sample handling coordination. Cell culture supernatant also supported for in vitro viral infection studies — centrifuge to remove cells and debris before freezing.

What You Receive

Quantitative Data Report

Antibody titers (serology) or analyte concentrations (cytokines) with per-analyte QC metrics. Excel + PDF.

Raw Data & Plots

per-antigen serological signals, multi-analyte standard curves, viral antigen lot documentation, and plate layout maps. Analysis-ready formats.

Methods Summary

Protocol, antigen lot information, and QC criteria with viral antigen specifications, serological QC thresholds, and assay protocol details for infectious disease research.

MSD vs ELISA vs Luminex for Infectious Disease Research

Feature	MSD	Single-Analyte ELISA (×N)	Luminex xMAP
Serology + Cytokines in One Run	Viral antigen serology + cytokine profiling from same platform	Separate assays for antibody and cytokine measurement	Primarily cytokine/chemokine panels; serology limited
Sample (serology 10-plex)	25 µL	1000 µL (100 µL × 10 antigens)	~25-50 µL (bead-based)
Interferon Subtyping	Dedicated 4-plex: IFN-α2a, IFN-β, IFN-γ, IFN-λ1	4 separate ELISA kits	Available via cytokine panels
NHP-Human Translational Bridging	Species-matched panels on same platform, same detection	Different kits, different manufacturers	Species-matched panels available
Emerging Pathogen Readiness	U-PLEX custom panels from recombinant antigens	Long development timeline per analyte	Custom bead coupling available

Service Details

Service Package

Item	Full Service	Notes
Sample Processing	Included	Serum/plasma/CSF per panel protocol
Standard Curves	Per-analyte 7-point calibrator	Recombinant protein and antigen standards
QC Samples	Multi-level, duplicate	Low, medium, high per panel
Data Report	Excel + PDF	Antibody titers or analyte concentrations with QC metrics

For Research Use Only. Not for diagnostic procedures.

Supporting Publications

Pinto, D. et al. (2020) Nature. 583(7815):290-295. "Cross-neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 by a human monoclonal SARS-CoV antibody." DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2349-y · PMID: 32422645
Corbett, K.S. et al. (2020) New England Journal of Medicine. 383(16):1544-1555. "Evaluation of the mRNA-1273 Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 in Nonhuman Primates." DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2024671 · PMID: 32722908
Baden, L.R. et al. (2021) New England Journal of Medicine. 384(5):403-416. "Efficacy and Safety of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine." DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2035389 · PMID: 33378609
Lucas, C. et al. (2020) Nature. 584(7821):463-469. "Longitudinal analyses reveal immunological misfiring in severe COVID-19." DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2588-y · PMID: 32717743

Frequently Asked Questions

Can NHP and human vaccine immunogenicity data be compared on the MSD platform?

NHP and human infectious disease panels use species-validated antibody pairs optimized for each species' analytes, so direct numerical comparison of absolute concentrations is not appropriate. However, because both use the same detection technology and plate format, the analytical framework is identical — enabling comparison of relative responses (fold-change from baseline, response patterns, temporal dynamics) without the platform-switching variability that confounds cross-species interpretation when different assay technologies are used for preclinical and clinical samples. For research use only.

Can you develop custom serology panels for emerging pathogens?

Yes. For novel viral antigens, R-PLEX custom development enables assay configuration against new pathogen targets. For pathogens where recombinant antigens are already available, U-PLEX custom panels can be configured more rapidly by linking available antibodies to the U-PLEX plate. Contact us with your pathogen and antigens of interest — we'll assess feasibility and provide a development timeline. For research use only.

How should BSL-2/BSL-3 samples be handled for MSD analysis?

Samples must be inactivated per your institutional biosafety protocol before shipping. Common inactivation methods — heat inactivation (56°C for 30 min), detergent treatment (Triton X-100), or formalin fixation — can affect cytokine and antibody measurements to varying degrees. We recommend validating the inactivation method's impact on your analytes of interest using spiked control samples before processing study samples. Contact us during study design to discuss inactivation compatibility with your panel. For research use only.

Can NHP and human data be directly compared on the MSD platform?

NHP and human infectious disease panels are species-validated with different antibody pairs optimized for each species' analyte. Direct numerical comparison of absolute concentrations across species is not appropriate due to differences in antibody affinity and assay sensitivity. However, because both panels use the same detection technology, plate format, and instrument platform, the analytical framework is identical — enabling comparison of relative responses (fold-change from baseline, response patterns, temporal dynamics) without the platform-switching variability that would confound cross-species comparison if different assay technologies were used for preclinical and clinical samples. For research use only.

How does the interferon 4-plex distinguish between Type I, II, and III IFN responses?

The MSD Interferon 4-Plex includes: IFN-α2a (Type I — prototypic antiviral interferon, produced by plasmacytoid dendritic cells), IFN-β (Type I — produced by virtually all nucleated cells upon viral sensing), IFN-γ (Type II — produced by activated T cells and NK cells, macrophage activation), and IFN-λ1/IL-29 (Type III — produced by epithelial cells, mucosal antiviral defense). This 4-plex distinguishes which arm of the interferon response is activated in a given infection or vaccine model — critical because Type I IFNs drive systemic antiviral immunity, Type II promotes cellular adaptive responses, and Type III mediates localized mucosal protection. All four are measured simultaneously from 25 µL. For research use only.

Inquiry Basket