Success Stories
Protein
Discovery, Inc. Awarded SBIR Grant for Serum Fractionation
System
Protein Discovery, Inc., a privately
held life sciences company, announced the award of a Phase
I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for
Research Resources (NCRR) to continue development of a fractionation
system that prepares human serum for analysis by high throughput
mass spectrometry. Protein Discovery will use the grant to
further develop, test, and characterize the novel fractionation
system.
Protein Discovery is developing
a serum fractionation system that will overcome current limitations
affecting the application of mass spectrometry to the analysis
of complex biological samples. Current methods of sample preparation
require significant investments of time and expert labor and
are incompatible with high-throughput automation solutions.
Additionally, Protein Discovery seeks to enable reproducible,
high-sensitivity analyses with the new serum fractionation
system, especially in the range of low-abundance, low molecular
weight proteins and peptides.
Chuck Witkowski, president and chief
executive officer of Protein Discovery, said, "The low molecular
weight, low abundance proteins in human serum represent a potentially
extensive and largely untapped resource of information about
diseases and the effects of treatment. This award validates
our unique technical approach and will accelerate our program
to increase the number of low abundance proteins that can be
reproducibly detected and quantified from serum. Our system
is compatible with all major MALDI mass spectrometers and can
be automated, so we are excited about the tremendous value
this system will provide to organizations involved in proteomics
research and biomarker discovery," added Mr. Witkowski.
Upon successful completion of Phase
I, Protein Discovery will be eligible for Phase II of the research
program, which will focus on the final implementation and validation
of the system. |