SMPSBN · Single molecule protein sequencing using biological nanopores

Single molecule protein sequencing using biological nanopores

Biology (and science as a whole) is continually driven forward by advances in experimental technology. Microscopes capable of observing the previously unobservable, analytical techniques allowing us to isolate and study different substances, sequencers providing direct access to the DNA code of life: these developments pave the way to medical, engineering, and scientific discoveries of great importance. Proteomics remains a relatively dark area in biology, due to the lack of any experimental tool for characterizing samples of protein as small or as heterogeneous as a single cell. The current gold standard in protein identification and sequencing, mass spectrometry, is presently incapable of this task. A tool capable of identifying or sequencing proteins at the single-molecule level would provide us with the capability to answer the seemingly simple yet currently unapproachable question of what, exactly, is floating around in a cell at any given time. This project's goal was to perform proof-of-principle experiments on a concept for such a technology, based on nanopore sequencing. Nanopore sequencing has additional advantages, as a highly accessible tool with minimal overhead cost and a high degree of engineerability, and as a technology whose core elements are already industrially produced and commercialized. Overall, our hope is to develop a robust single-molecule protein sequencing technology that is broadly accessible to scientists and clinicians.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union