Peak Proteins Adopts the Fida 1 Platform

We are delighted to announce we have recently acquired a new instrument and software, the Fida 1 platform…from FidaBio!

We were looking to enhance the quality control (QC) package for proteins we were generating for clients and evaluated a number of different systems. Following our analysis, we opted for the Fida 1 platform from Fidabio. Important to our decision was the fact that the Fida 1 generates high quality biophysical measurements of proteins in solution, is relatively straightforward to use with minimal set-up time and uses only a few microlitres of (sometimes) precious protein reagents. Using the Fida 1 platform will significantly enhance our ability to understand the biophysical properties of the proteins we are producing in real time.

In a nut shell, FIDA (which stands for Flow Induced Dispersion Analysis) allows the direct measurement of a biomolecule’s size in solution by measuring diffusion coefficients and calculating hydrodynamic radii of a sample using Taylor dispersion analysis (TDA). It consists of injecting a fluorescent marker into an open capillary tube and inducing laminar flow through a buffer solution. Depending on experimental set-up, the buffer could contain a sample of interest (e.g. an interacting partner), or a component that influences the marker’s biophysical properties. The system can use one of two detectors, allowing two different options for sample measurement once the marker reaches the detection window at the end of the capillary. Fluorescence can be detected (ex/em 490/525 nm)  such that a chemical compound or biomolecule that has been fluorescently labelled can be used as the marker. The other detector can measure the intrinsic tryptophan and tyrosine fluorescence of a protein so that a pure, unlabelled protein can be used as the marker.

As well as directly measuring the size of our proteins, the Fida 1 allows us to investigate protein quality, polydispersity, sample viscosity, protein:protein interactions, KD, and most importantly, perform all this in solution, rather than tethered to a solid surface. Futhermore, using fluorescently labelled molecules, we can rapidly analyse the quality and quantity of both soluble and membrane proteins from small-scale cultures without the need of any prior purification.

“The beauty of Fida 1 is that it allows us to conduct a lot of biophysical measurements in one system using a small amount of reagent and a rapid read-out time which is important for our projects and to our customers” says Mark Abbott, Managing Director at Peak Proteins. “Providing a high-quality, protein characterisation QC package is certainly extending and future proofing our capabilities in biophysical characterisation of the proteins we produce. Our pilot studies using some complex proteins and protein:protein interaction measurements have generated some fantastic data very quickly”

“We are pleased that Peak Proteins with their strong credentials in protein science are the first European CRO to adopt the Fida 1 technology.” says Brian Sørensen, CEO at Fidabio. “Their service offering across protein production, characterisation and structure determination is in complete alignment with the broad range of applications that the Fida 1 can perform. Peak Proteins scientists were among the first to recognise and reduce to practice the ability of the Fida 1 to analyze membrane proteins in their native state which is simply difficult to do with other technologies.

So, we’re very excited to see the full range of data this new platform can deliver as we start to use this as part of protein expression and purification services for clients. If you’d like to find out more about how the Fida 1 platform could help you in your research projects, please get in touch with us at info@peakproteins.com