Enriching Low-Abundance Serum & Plasma Proteins
AWARD: $30,000 USD | DEADLINE: 10/01/11 | ACTIVE SOLVERS: 254 | POSTED: 8/01/11
Source: InnoCentive Challenge ID: 9932714 Type: Theoretical-licensing
Detailed Description & Requirements
Concentrations of proteins in serum and plasma span up to 10 orders of magnitude – e.g. from serum albumin (50 mg/ml) to some cytokines and chemokines (<5 pg/ml)
Protein molecules most useful to researchers exist at levels that are approximately at or below the 10,000 pg/ml range. Detection and quantification of these low-abundance proteins is obscured by the presence of high abundance proteins. Current methods for reducing the concentration of high-abundance proteins are either inefficient, targeted at certain proteins, or introduce bias and other artifacts.
The Seeker is looking to identify novel methods to reliably reduce or eliminate high abundance proteins so that detection of protein analytes present at the 1-10 ng/ml scale or lower may be accurately detected.
The Seeker envisages that a sample preparation techniques may be the most likely route to a solution. However, alternative approaches are also welcomed. The Seeker is highly experienced in sample preparation technologies for reduction of high-abundance proteins & is not interested in simple proposals of commercially available, or published, technologies and techniques.
The Seeker is aware of the following ‘sample enrichment’ technologies for reducing the concentration of high abundance proteins from serum & plasma. The techniques are listed together with their limitations for the Seeker:
Immunoaffinity depletions– depletions are extremely specific to the antigens the antibodies target. Commercially available kits commonly deplete 6-20 high abundance proteins with more than 90% efficiency. Although this enables detection of more low-abundance proteins, the column-based process induces some bias in low-abundance protein
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