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Proteomics Platform

1.Presentation of the platform
The Proteomics platform, the only one of its kind in Africa, has the main mission of qualitative (identification of proteins and their post-translational modifications) and quantitative description of proteomes. It offers training, research and service activities relying on highly qualified personnel and leading-edge infrastructure.
2. Platform sections
2.1. Protein extraction and assay
The main mission of this section is the preparation of samples from different organisms, tissues or organs, the extraction of proteins and peptides as well as the dosage of different proteins and enzymes. Samples are often complex and their preparation requires a preliminary separation step in order to identify and enable efficient separation of the greatest number of proteins. This step is decisive for the results of protein analysis by electrophoresis and mass spectrometry.
2.2. Electrophoresis protein analysis
The mission of this section is to separate proteins and enzymes by electrophoresis. Several electrophoresis approaches are used, discontinuous electrophoresis in the presence of SDS (1D–SDS-PAGE), (1D-PAGE) or two-dimensional electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel (2D-PAGE) which allows separation in two stages , the proteins of a complex mixture, for example a cellular or tissue extract, depending on two distinct properties of these molecules: their charge and their molecular mass.
The analysis of 2D gel images allows for relative quantification of proteins in different biological groups. It offers the advantage of separating and quantifying entire native proteins.
2.3. Protein purification
This section's mission is the purification of biomolecules (Biopolymer, native and recombinant proteins, peptides, etc.) by FPLC (Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography) which has several applications including:
2.4. Protein analysis
  •  Lipoprotein and protein profiling in body fluids such as plasma, urine, and cerebrospinal fluids which contain a variety of proteins and peptides;
  •  Protein profiling in animal venom purification as well as in the diagnosis of beta thalassemia;
  •  Purification of porphobilinogen deaminase, human red blood cells, antibodies and vaccines.
The mission of this section is to characterize proteins by LC-MS/MS. It allows the identification, quantification and research of post-translational modifications of proteins in complex mixtures. This approach applies to all types of complex or purified protein samples. It can also be used for quality control of peptides or recombinant proteins (mass validation, detection of contaminants, sequence validation by high-resolution LC-MS/MS analysis, etc.). Proteins analyzed by mass spectrometry are most often digested into peptides.
The Orbitrap mass spectrometer installed at the Proteomics Platform offers the highest levels of accuracy and precision and can be used in the following areas:
  •  Health where it is used in the research and quantification of biomarkers (specific to complex pathologies such as cancers) or the characterization of proteins in biological fluids and complex samples (blood, urine, etc.);
  •  Pharmaceutical: used for the characterization of therapeutic proteins (vaccine, antibodies, etc.);
  •  Environmental and Food Safety: used for screening of environmental contaminants (pollutants), targeted and unknown, and food contaminants.
2.5. Data processing
This section includes an IT infrastructure which allows it to manage very large data and to support users in the exploitation of their results through to their bioinformatics and statistical analysis.
Its mission is to analyze bioinformatics and proteomic data including the results of the different applications of the platform such as the characterization of proteins by mass spectrometry, the purification of proteins by FPLC, the dosage and electrophoresis of total proteins and enzymes.