Researchers develop new way to detect differences between complex mixtures

14 February 2023

Researchers from the School of Chemistry, the School of Biochemistry, the Bristol BioDesign Institute have developed a new way to detect differences between complex mixtures, including blood samples.

The research, led by Professor Dek Woolfson's research group in collaboration with Rosa Biotech and GSK, involves using arrays of de novo designed proteins that sense the presence of small-molecule metabolites and report on different compositions of these in the mixtures.

For example, the team has shown that the new technology can distinguish blood samples from healthy volunteers and those with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NASH).

The work has been published in Nature Communications, entitled 'Differential sensing with arrays of de novo designed peptide assemblies'.

Further information

Dawson, W.M., Shelley, K.L., Fletcher, J.M., Arne Scott D., Lombardi L., Rhys G.G., LaGambina T.J., Obst U., Burton A.J., Cross J.A., Davies G., Martin F.J.O., Wiseman F.J., Brady R.L., Tew D., Wood C.W., Woolfson D.N. Differential sensing with arrays of de novo designed peptide assemblies. Nat Commun 14, 383 (2023).