Carboxylate-modified polystyrene latex beads (fluorescent orange) have been used to block phagocytosis by hemocytes in Drosophila. It has also been used to assess the uptake of latex beads by antigen presenting cells from porcine respiratory system.

Carboxylate-modified polystyrene latex beads have been used to collect morphofunctional data about the immune systems of Carabus lefebvrei, a helicophagous Italian endemic ground beetle often used as an indicator of the habitat quality of the Apennines mountain forests. Carboxylate-modified polystyrene latex beads have also been used to inform comparative studies on immunity defense mechanisms of adults and larvae of the coleopteran Cetonischema aeruginosa and to investigate the phagocytic activity of cultured rat thyroid cells.