Company of the week: Nautilus Biotechnology

As someone who was steeped in the world of quantitative proteomics using mass spectrometry, it's always intriguing to see new methodologies emerge that challenge the status quo. I learned of what Nautilus is creating back in 2021 when I interviewed with them for a Research Associate gig. 📝

Nautilus is pushing the boundaries with a single-molecule protein analysis platform aimed at mapping the human proteome in unprecedented detail.

• They leveraged modern photolithography and vapor deposition techniques to create patterned chips, theoretically capable of holding 600 million protein molecules. 📄

Their promise lies in the potential to identify and quantify proteins, including post-translational modifications (PTMs), in one shot. This could enhance our comprehension of protein functions and interactions at a cellular level, possibly altering the landscape of biological research and clinical diagnostics.

• Utilizing 'structured nucleic acid particles' (SNAPs) capable of holding single protein molecules with results of up to 95% conjugation efficiency between SNAPs and proteins. This is largely due to a novel 'brush-like' design which not only increased the size of SNAPs but also their dispersity. This suggests a high level of control over the SNAP-conjugation process. 📄

The Nautilus platform is yet to be widely tested, and how it will compare to mass spectrometry in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, and reproducibility remains to be seen. However, the potential to analyze the proteome on a new scale is exciting and could provide another important tool in the proteomics toolkit.

Innovation sparks progress, and it's through exploring novel technologies like Nautilus Biotechnology’s platform that we can continue to advance our understanding of the proteome and what it does. It will be interesting to see how this technology performs in the face of more complex proteomic challenges, such as the wide dynamic range of protein expression and the ability to detect low-abundance proteins.

Platform 📝 - https://lnkd.in/gfXxVdbe
Scaling up 📄 - https://lnkd.in/gCAimZnE

🎥 Amazing Animation by Arkitek Scientific with Beth Anderson and Doug Huff. Thanks for what you do! 🧬