An All-in-Tip Accelerated Proteomics Platform for Large-Scale Cancer Screening

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Proteomics
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Plasma proteomics is crucial for human proteome atlas mapping and precision medicine.
• Current methods face significant inefficiencies in sample processing, limiting large-scale application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a fully automated, room-temperature platform for high-throughput, cost-effective plasma proteomics.
• To enhance the speed and depth of proteome profiling for clinical applications.

Main Methods:

• Development of an All-in-Tip platform using functional macroporous nanoparticles (NPs).
• Utilized NPs for rapid protein corona formation (5 min) to narrow dynamic range.
• Employed spatial confinement within NPs to accelerate protein digestion (5 min).

Main Results:

• Achieved deep proteome profiling (>3000 protein groups/batch) with high throughput (>4600 samples/day).
• Demonstrated high reproducibility (Pearson's r > 0.91, CV < 20%).
• Identified >5100 proteins in lung adenocarcinoma samples, distinguishing malignant from benign nodules (AUC 0.87-0.89).

Conclusions:

• The All-in-Tip platform offers a rapid, in-depth, and high-throughput solution for plasma proteomics.
• This technology can expedite cancer screening through biomarker discovery and mechanistic studies.
• Holds promise for large-scale clinical cohort analysis in precision medicine.