Peptide arrays with a chip.
Today, lithographic methods enable combinatorial synthesis of >50,000 oligonucleotides per cm(2), an advance that has revolutionized the whole field of genomics. A similar development is expected for the field of proteomics, provided that affordable, very high-density peptide arrays are available. However, peptide arrays lag behind oligonucleotide arrays. This is mainly due to the monomer-by-monomer repeated consecutive coupling of 20 different amino acids associated with lithography, which adds up to an excessive number of coupling cycles. A combinatorial synthesis based on electrically charged solid amino acid particles resolves this problem. A computer chip consecutively addresses the different charged particles to a solid support, where, when completed, the whole layer of solid amino acid particles is melted at once. This frees hitherto immobilized amino acids to couple all 20 different amino acids in one single coupling reaction to the support. The method should allow for the translation of entire genomes into a set of overlapping peptides to be used in proteome research.
Nesterov
Alexander
A
Institute for Microstructure Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
Dörsam
Edgar
E
Cheng
Yun-Chien
YC
Schirwitz
Christopher
C
Märkle
Frieder
F
Löffler
Felix
F
König
Kai
K
Stadler
Volker
V
Bischoff
Ralf
R
Breitling
Frank
F
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D020650:Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques; D004566:Electrodes; D010316:Particle Size; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D040081:Protein Array Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013499:Surface Properties
D000596:Amino Acids; D010455:Peptides; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols