We are requesting funds to purchase a Quanterix 2470 Arrayer that will be used primarily for Reverse Phase Protein Array (RPPA) experiments and related applications of the major NIH funded users at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) who came together for this application. RPPA is a high-throughput antibody-based targeted proteomics platform that can quantify 300+ proteins in thousands of samples simultaneously, including small amounts of tissue and cell lysates, serum, plasma or other body fluids. Experimental protein samples, and positive and negative controls, are robotically arrayed as microspots on nitrocellulose coated glass slides and each slide is probed with a validated specific antibody that can detect levels of total protein expression or post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation as a measure of protein activit y. The Quanterix 2470 instrument is the latest generation robotic arrayer for this type of proteomic platform and is proposed to be located in the Antibody-based Proteomics Core (ABP) at BCM as a replacement of an aged first generation Aushon Arrayer. RPPA is a robust technology developed as a major service of the ABP Core with our in-house standard workflow protocols, quality controls and data analysis tools, and has proven to be highly reliable and reproducible for both validation and discovery proteo mic research. The ABP Core has provided RPPA services over the past ~7 years for 135 investigators processing over 20,000 samples for 260+ distinct research projects, resulting in over 30 publications. The user base for RPPA services has been growing and because this is a relatively unique technology for a Core, the ABP Core has become an important resource for RPPA projects nationally for other academic Institutions. The enhancements and upgrades provided by the Quanterix instrument will be important to improve the quality and efficiency of robotically micro-arrayed protein samples and to expand the capacity for our RPPA Core services. The next- generation Quanterix arrayer will also be important for development of new RPPA and related applications for major user projects and for the ABP Core in general including platforms for disease and tissue specific targeted proteomics, epigenetics and glycomics. Page 1
The installation of a Quanterix 2470 Arrayer in the Antibody-based Proteomics Core at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) will enhance the quality, efficiency and capacity of research projects for more than thirty BCM investigators and dozens of additional investigators in other academic institutions annually. Through the application of reverse phase protein array (RPPA) as a targeted proteomic platform, the overarching goal of investigator projects is to understand mechanisms and discover new protein targets and pathways for development of therapies for cancer intervention, developmental disorders, and other diseases. Page 1
