Automatable cell surface proteomics (surface-omics) with magnetic beads!

 

70% of our drugs target proteins at the cell surface! Real number.

And mass spectrometry based proteomics is....sort of lousy at identifying them! There are bunches of methods out there, but what would you do if you needed to look at a lot of samples in a semi- or fully automated way? 

Okay...when you put the entire schematic together at the top it does look like a..lot...but when you really break it down into constituents it probably is the easiest method for Cell Surface Proteomics (cell surfaceomics?) that I've seen. PLUS all these things are amenable to automation! 

Now, there are a lot of methods out there, with my go to being Josip Blonder's classic work on the topic but the weakness of this method and several of the others is that it enriches membranes indiscriminately (which probably still helps) but newer methods like the topic story of this post do alter the actual proteins on the outside of the cell so you are selectively enriching for those. Looking for the next drug target en masse? This method might be a great place to start!  

Next question, of course, is "can I load these data into SurfaceGenie?" I bet you can!