High-throughput Microfluidic Proteomics

Proteomics discovery holds the key to understanding biological process. Yet, millions of proteins with varied modifications and dynamic abundance pose a daunting measurement challenge. Facing the sea of proteins, the multiple sample preparation is the critical bottleneck which limits the power and speed of proteomics discovery. It is urgently calling for automatic, high throughput, and multiplexed protein processing platform. This book, therefore, introduces a state of the art of microfluidic technology for high-throughput proteomics. The functional nanoporous structures were created in microfluidic scale to form a new generation of multiple protein processing platform, including the preparatory (i.e., separation) and biological functions (i.e., enzymatic digestion). Such lithographically defined polymer materials possess the scaling-up capability for parallel, high-throughput protein processing. The strategy developed here should shed light on the advanced proteomics and glycomics, and should be especially useful to the exciting field of biomarker discovery, or anyone else who may be considering utilizing biotechnology for rapid, and ultra-low sample assay.