Proteins Surface Characterisation

Proteins are a key part of many industrial processes. They are also becoming increasingly important in the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. They are highly variable, sensitive and changeable biological macromolecules. Their sheer complexity is an intellectual challenge to their use.
A key ethos of this research effort is to learn how proteins behave in nature. Biological systems have evolved over millions of years. Many of the research problems that are encountered in bioscience and engineering have been solved many times over by evolution and natural selection. For example, proteins naturally aggregate in cellular environments. There exist systems to control this. When these systems fail, human disease, such as Alzheimer's can develop. Protein aggregation has been understood and mastered by nature.
This project proposes a novel approach to the characterisation of the surfaces of proteins. It uses existing High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) technologies and is a development of previous research carried out in Self Interaction Chromatography (SIC) - a form of Affinity Chromatography. Protein Surface Characterisation Chromatography (ProChrom) aims to provide scientists and engineers with another tool to understand laboratory and natural biochemical environments. Chromatography is inherently a direct thermodynamic measurement of state. This could provide a unique insight into difficult biological situations. The aim of ProChrom is to complement, rather than necessarily replace, established characterisation techniques. If successfully implemented, it could form the basis for an entirely new field of scientific research.