On-demand peptide synthesis for personalized medicine: ElectroMed
Microfluidics is a technology of choice for personalized medicine. In the ElectroMed project, complex fluid handling in microfluidic devices will synthesize patient-specific peptides on demand.
This project is completed now. If interested, feel free to contact us.
Microfluidic complex fluid handling system for personalized medicine: introduction
The ElectroMed project was honored to be presented as one of the “Breakthrough ideas” in the first European Innovation Council (EIC) newsletter in Spring 2020.
This newsletter was explicitly dedicated to COVID-19, and the partners in ElectroMed expressed their commitment to contribute to possible diagnosis solutions and vaccine developments to overcome the crisis.
Proteomics is increasingly used as a diagnostic tool and therapeutic solution for personalized medicine. The customized screening of proteins is currently performed thanks to immunosensors, using specific ligands to capture and detect proteins.
However, no tool is available for fast, accurate, cost-effective protein screening at the patient’s level. To achieve that, a system able to program the synthesis of the personalized choice of ligands and to control the ligand-receptor assembly to ensure the best sensing performance and reliable detection is needed.
On-demand peptide synthesis for personalized medicine: project description
ElectroMed will propose a user-friendly platform to program electrochemically-directed peptide synthesis thanks to a microfluidic multiplexing system controlled by a software to boost the use of proteomics in personalized medicine. The ligand-receptor complexes will then be detected and quantified thanks to label-free sensors based on nanomaterials.
In this project, we will propose an effective solution for the complex fluid handling of up to 24 solutions (amino acids, solvents, and samples) in the microfluidic device. The system will enable an automated injection of the different reagents needed for the ligand synthesis, that is to say, for the personalized and controlled synthesis of peptides.
A combination of Elveflow pressure controller and flow switch matrices will be used to achieve this complex fluid handling under the control of our dedicated software. The ElectroMed project aims to develop and validate a proof-of-concept prototype that will make using proteomics for personalized medicine possible.
The developed prototype could also greatly interest the food sector (allergens, GMOs, or toxin detection) and the environmental or defense sector.
As of spring 2021, a proof of concept for the peptide synthesis has been developed at Elvesys, enabling the sequential injection of 9 different solutions, the activation of amino acids by mixing, and the rinsing of the microfluidic line to avoid cross-contamination.
The next step will be to integrate the sensors developed by our collaborators into the microfluidic line to perform peptide coupling and biomolecule recognition into the microfluidic line.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 FETOPEN under grant agreement No 862539 (ElectroMed).
