Proteins Surface Characterisation

蛋白质是许多工业过程的关键部分。它们在人类疾病的诊断和治疗中也变得越来越重要。它们是高度可变、敏感和可变的生物大分子。蛋白质的复杂性是对其使用的智力挑战。这项研究工作的一个关键精神是了解蛋白质在自然界中的行为。生物系统已经进化了数百万年。在生物科学和工程中遇到的许多研究问题已经通过进化和自然选择解决了很多次。例如，蛋白质在细胞环境中自然聚集。有系统来控制它。当这些系统失效时，人类疾病，如阿尔茨海默氏症就可能发展。蛋白质聚集现象已被自然界所了解和掌握，本计画提出一种新的方法来表征蛋白质表面。它使用现有的高压液相色谱（HPLC）技术，是在自相互作用色谱（SIC）-亲和色谱的一种形式中进行的先前研究的发展。蛋白质表面表征色谱（ProChrom）旨在为科学家和工程师提供另一种了解实验室和自然生化环境的工具。色谱本质上是一种直接的热力学状态测量。这可以提供一个独特的洞察困难的生物情况。ProChrom的目的是补充，而不是取代，建立表征技术。如果成功实施，它可以为一个全新的科学研究领域奠定基础。

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.