Optimisation of Functional Mesoporous Materials for Low-Abundance Biomarkers Quantification towards Biodiagnostic Applications (2013-2015)

Quantitative analysis of low abundance biomarkers of disease is a big challenge, but essential for diagnosis and clinical applications. In this project, we will systematically study the correlation between structure - peptide enrichment efficiency of mesoporous materials. The fundamental knowledge obtained will be used to design optimised materials to enrich low-abundant peptides. The enrichment step will be coupled with a label-free quantification method using mass spectrometry to develop a new approach to analyse low concentration peptides/proteins. The developed protocol will be applied in the detection of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinases, a biomarker hypothesised to be associated with osteoarthritis development.