Issue 11, 2006

Proteome-on-a-chip: Mirage, or on the horizon?

Abstract

Proteomics has emerged as the next great scientific challenge in the post-genome era. But even the most basic form of proteomics, proteome profiling, i.e., identifying all of the proteins expressed in a given sample, has proven to be a demanding task. The proteome presents unique analytical challenges, including significant molecular diversity, an extremely wide concentration range, and a tendency to adsorb to solid surfaces. Microfluidics has been touted as being a useful tool for developing new methods to solve complex analytical challenges, and, as such, seems a natural fit for application to proteome profiling. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in the field of microfluidics in four key areas related to this application: chemical processing, sample preconcentration and cleanup, chemical separations, and interfaces with mass spectrometry. We identify the bright spots and challenges for the marriage of microfluidics and proteomics, and speculate on the outlook for progress.

Graphical abstract: Proteome-on-a-chip: Mirage, or on the horizon?

Article information

Article type
Critical Review
Submitted
11 Jul 2006
Accepted
10 Aug 2006
First published
05 Sep 2006

Lab Chip, 2006,6, 1415-1423

Proteome-on-a-chip: Mirage, or on the horizon?

S. L. S. Freire and A. R. Wheeler, Lab Chip, 2006, 6, 1415 DOI: 10.1039/B609871A

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