How can proteins and their modifications be analysed more rapidly, accurately and cost-effectively in the future?
This question is at the heart of the latest cover story published by Medizin & Technik. The feature article highlights the rapid progress of nanopore technology and its potential to shape the next generation of molecular diagnostics.
A particular focus of the article is the work carried out within nanodiag BW. The future cluster aims to translate nanopore-based technologies for the analysis of proteins and epigenetic markers from fundamental research into clinically applicable diagnostic systems. To achieve this, universities, research institutes, hospitals and industrial partners collaborate closely across the entire innovation chain.
Professor Felix von Stetten, spokesperson of nanodiag BW, outlines the cluster’s vision of bringing nanopore technology into routine clinical diagnostics, enabling new opportunities for earlier disease detection and personalised medicine.
Professor Jan C. Behrends, Deputy Spokesperson of the cluster, discusses the scientific challenges of analysing proteins with nanopores and explains the technological advances required to enable the direct and highly precise analysis of proteins and their modifications.
While nanopore-based DNA and RNA sequencing has already become an established technology, protein analysis represents one of the next major challenges in molecular diagnostics. As proteins are the functional molecules that directly reflect biological processes and disease-specific changes, their analysis has the potential to open entirely new possibilities for early diagnosis, treatment selection and disease monitoring.
The cover story demonstrates that developing such diagnostic systems requires close collaboration between fundamental research, technology development, clinical application and industrial implementation. This translational approach lies at the very heart of nanodiag BW: the cluster brings together academia, healthcare and industry to accelerate the transfer of innovative nanopore-based diagnostic technologies into medical practice.
The feature highlights the rapid progress being made in nanopore-based protein analysis and underlines the important role that nanodiag BW and its partners play in translating scientific advances into next-generation diagnostic solutions.
