This is a service delivery platform which will provide a high-throughput methodology for the search of new therapeutic targets for diseases with a high social impact like cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. The proteomic platform will focus on the following activities:

• discovery of biomarkers for early detection, diagnosis, assessment of the severity and progression of diseases, as a basis for the identification of new therapeutic targets;
• evaluation of effect and toxicity of new drugs/molecules by monitoring the protein expression profiles and post-translational modifications not only at the cell or tissue levels, but also in subcellular structures, in protein complexes and in biological fluids;
• identification and characterization of low molecular weight molecules, including drugs and their metabolites, xenobiotics and residues in biological fluids, cell cultures and tissues.

The proteomics strategies applied will include both:

• electrophoresis-based protein profiling and identification of relevent protein components and post-translation modifications by mass spectrometry;
• evaluation of effect and toxicity of new drugs/molecules by monitoring the protein expression profiles and post-translational modifications not only at the cell or tissue levels, but also in subcellular structures, in protein complexes and in biological fluids; shotgun proteomics, which refers to the liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry-based analysis of peptides mixtures obtained by proteolytic digestion of very complex protein mixtures and allows to generate a global profile of the protein components of a sample.

Technological services offered

• Technical advice and services for proteomic analyses such as sample preparation, proteins separation by electrophoretic and chromatographic methods, mass spectrometry analyses, western blot analyses, qualitative and quantitative differential analysis of protein content in biological samples
• Purification and biochemical characterization of proteins from different sources including evaluation of enzymatic activity