Protein Quality Control in SPR and BLI High-Throughput Screening Studies
While surface plasmon resonance and bio-layer interferometry are widely accepted and highly valued tools for screening studies of drug candidate molecules, the data they provide are only as good as the solutions loaded onto the instruments. Preliminary assessment of the quality of the sample proteins and solutions is imperative for reliable binding results.
Dynamic light scattering is commonly used to evaluate protein aggregation, degradation and solution quality.However, in the context of high-throughput screening, conventional dynamic light scattering detection is just not feasible, since these instruments work with singlesample microcuvettes and the amount of labor required would be quite extensive. The DynaPro® Plate Reader II overcomes this obstacle as it measures dynamic light scattering in situ in industry-standard microwell plates, performing automated, non-perturbative quality assessments with minimal time and effort.
After analysis on the DynaPro, a ‘heat map’ created by the software offers a quick visual scan of the aggregation state in each well. Detailed particle size distributions may be examined more closely. The operator can readily determine which solutions are suitable for binding assays in order to ensure confidence in the results.
The plates can then simply be transferred to the SPR or BLI instrument with no intermediate fluid handling or perturbation. This seamless work flow greatly enhances productivity in drug discovery.
