Project description
Innovative platform to identify individual proteins within single cells
The ability to identify individual proteins within a single cell would transform proteomics research and biomedicine. The EU-funded NanoProt-ID project will develop a method for proteome-level analysis at single protein resolution. Bioinformatics studies have shown that more than 99 % of proteins can be identified by the order in which lysine, cysteine, and methionine appear along the proteins’ chain. The project hypothesis is that labelling the three residues with distinct fluorophores and threading them through solid-state nanopores equipped with custom plasmonic amplifiers will result in multi-colour fluorescence, time-trace fingerprints uniquely representing proteins in the proteome. Researchers aim to scale up this platform to enable the analysis of thousands of different proteins within minutes.
Objective
To date, antibody-free protein identification methods have not reached single-molecule precision. Instead, they rely on averaging from many cells, obscuring the details of important biological processes. The ability to identify each individual protein from within a single cell would transform proteomics research and biomedicine. However, single protein identification (ID) presents a major challenge, necessitating a breakthrough in single-molecule sensing technologies.
We propose to develop a method for proteome-level analysis, with single protein resolution. Bioinformatics studies show that >99% of human proteins can be uniquely identified by the order in which only three amino-acids, Lysine, Cysteine, and Methionine (K, C and M, respectively), appear along the proteins’ chain. By specifically labelling K, C and M residues with three distinct fluorophores, and threading them, one by one, through solid-state nanopores equipped with custom plasmonic amplifiers, we hypothesize that we can obtain multi-color fluorescence time-trace fingerprints uniquely representing most proteins in the human proteome. The feasibility of our method will be established by attaining 4 main aims: i) in vitro K,C,M protein labelling, ii) development of a machine learning classifier to uniquely ID proteins based on their optical fingerprints, iii) fabrication of state-of-the-art plasmonic nanopores for high-resolution optical sensing of proteins, and iv) devising methods for regulating the translocation speed to enhance the signal to noise ratio. Next, we will scale up our platform to enable the analysis of thousands of different proteins in minutes, and apply it to sense blood-secreted proteins, as well as whole proteomes in pre- and post-metastatic cancer cells. NanoProt-ID constitutes the first and most challenging step towards the proteomic analysis of individual cells, opening vast research directions and applications in biomedicine and systems biology.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins proteomics
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2018-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
32000 Haifa
Israel
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.