In order to study enzymatic reactions and to conduct immunoassays on large scale, biologists can use immobilized biological compound arrays. This microarray technology allows for high-throughput study of multiple samples in parallel, increasing efficiency and reducing cost by diminishing the amount of reagents and volume of samples required for experimentation. Specifically, this technology applies microarray methodology to prepare protein arrays based on protein-protein interactions, and allows scientists to conduct large scale drug screenings in proteins that are maintained in their functionally active state.
This technology describes the preparation of an array that involves incorporation of a PDZ domain on one protein, which specifically interacts with a c-terminal tri-peptide that can be incorporated onto any other protein. Because of the strong binding affinity of these two added domains and the ease of incorporation into any protein available, a broad range of protein chips can be made to study a range of targets. Furthermore, this protein-protein interaction is exploited to make the protein array functional at physiological conditions, which is extremely valuable to identify promising drug candidates. The low cost of production combined with the high-throughput, multi-drug screening capabilities of this technology make it extremely useful for identifying apoptosis initiating therapeutics.
This technology has been tested using in vitro binding assays and validated upon comparison to yeast two-hybrid analysis.
Patent Pending (WO/2003/076936)
Tech Ventures Reference: IR 1218