Nanotrap biomarker discovery platform

Shimadzu Scientific Instruments has partnered with Ceres Nanosciences and Nonlinear Dynamics to develop the Nanotrap Biomarker Discovery Platform that can give researchers the ability to enrich, preserve and screen low-level biomarkers directly from complex biological samples.

Nanotraps are core shell hydrogel particles with porous interiors and size exclusion shells. By delivering affinity selection and size exclusion in one step, the platform amplifies low-level biomarkers directly from complex biological fluids. This enables the harvesting of low-abundance biomarkers directly from complex samples, making early disease detection possible.

Biomarkers in current clinical use have low sensitivity and specificity and limited use for early disease detection; however, the Nanotrap platform provides fractionation, concentration and protection of low-level biomarkers directly from complex biological fluids.

Integrating the platform with Axima Maldi mass spectrometry for screening and identification provides researchers with enriched and concentrated low-abundance proteins from complex bio-fluid samples and prevents protein degradation during sample processing. It can also decrease the amount of high-abundance proteins present in samples and does not require antibodies for immunodepletion or immunoprecipitation. It has a simple format and quick sample processing technique and fully integrated informatics capabilities (Progenesis Maldi, Nonlinear Dynamics) with simplified screening and identification for biomarker discovery and validation

When used with the Axima Maldi mass spectrometers, Nanotrap-enriched samples are analysed rapidly and reproducibly in a fully automated format. Disposable Fleximass-DS targets are available for contamination-free analysis and sample archiving.

Progenesis Maldi software generates high-quality proteomics data to define biomarkers and is claimed to improve the reliability and reproducibility of results and to add speed, objectivity and statistics to biomarker discovery.