SeraFILE™ - A Biomarker and Drug Discovery Engine
SeraFILE™ (patent pending) is a surface-based separations reagent set and associated protocols that addresses the disconnect between proteomics and functional mechanisms. Clients and collaborators now employ it to simultaneously survey the functional characteristics of a targeted protein set for: feature comparisons and discovery, low-abundance enrichment, and for proteomic prospecting. SeraFILE™ uniquely enables the differentiation of conformational variants and allosteric characterization, critical data for drug development and not otherwise available with other proteomic methods. SeraFILE™ separations and protocols are seamless with existing proteomic assay and detection infrastructure, generating differential sub-proteomes efficiently and in parallel, compartmentalizing the functional characteristics that can define crude soluble protein samples.
The SeraFILE™ surface library is not based on conventional liquid chromatography stationary phases. Whereas conventional LC (green) suffers from a heterogeneous mix of binding energies, and Affinity (red) has exceedingly high binding energy, SeraFILE™ promotes weak, homogeneous binding - ideal for proteomic investigation. Each surface in the library has a singular mixed mode architecture consisting of some combination of ionic, aromatic, aliphatic and polymeric chemistry. Modest pH changes generate unique sub-proteomes with both differential abundance and functional characteristics.
The SeraFILE™ surface library provides:
- A parallel separations process that is open-ended and industrially productive.
- Enriched sub-proteomes towards targeted biologically functional conformations.
- New profiling techniques which generate signatures across a multiplicity of sub-proteomes and interrogations.
- A means to characterize enzyme regulation and related functional sub-states from disease.
- Discovery strategies that enrich catalytic activity and directly couple to drug development.
Secondary Interrogation
An immediate and direct hand-off simplifies secondary interrogation. Thus, molecular profiles can be generated from the SeraFILE sub-proteomes, combining function (yellow), structure (blue) and expression and identification (green).
These measurements collectively provide a molecular profile (or "signature") of the starting sample. Comparisons of a critical number of clinically defined samples, can correlate proteins individually or as a nexus to disease.
Along with comparison analyses, SeraFILE™ participates in three unique discovery avenues especially for biomarker drug development:
- Rational Proteome Prospecting™, to enrich for low abundance biomarkers of interest,
- Conformerics™, to compartmentalize conformational variants for small molecule modulation screening assays, and
- Rational Genome to Proteome Prospecting, for protein biomarker prospecting from gene expression targets.
SeraFILE™ Service Deliverables
SeraFILE™ can be advantageous in routine proteomic investigations using 1DE/2DE/Mass Spec approaches, or through ProFACT's proprietary menu of services. Deliverables are client driven and can include:
- Differential Sub-proteome pools
- Molecular Disease Signatures
- Bioassay Profiles
- Reproducible Quantitative Abundance Profiles
- Functional Pathway Characterization
- Rational Proteome Prospecting™
- Conformerics™ Bioactive Target/Drug Assays
SeraFILE™
