Development of an ambient mass spectrometry platform for rapid mass spectrometry characterisation of proteins

During the project a prototype Beacon ion source will be developed - a new device that uses pulsed ultrasonic pierced-plate (PUPP) nebulizers for efficient ionisation of biological samples with minimal sample preparation. The Beacon ion source will be integrated with a range of protein mass spectrometry techniques developed in the Clarke group (bottom-up and top-down MS, native MS, and protein footprinting MS).

The resulting new platform technology will allow rapid and automated characterisation protein folding, protein-ligand binding, protein post-translational modification states and protein production levels during recombinant expression. The ability to perform these analyses in 'real-time' with minimal sample preparation will be particularly useful for the characterisation and production of protein therapeutics (such as antibody-drug conjugates, engineered vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies).

This research is within the EPSRC priority areas of Physical Sciences and Healthcare Technologies. Development of this technology will be of benefit to several EPSRC Research themes: Analytical Science, Chemical Biology, and Chemical Structure.