DR. EDWARD SHIPWASH AND AMINOARRAYS, INC.
ARE REVOLUTIONIZING PROTEOMICS ‑‑
THE NEXT BIG THING IN BIOTECHNOLOGY

Until now, two major obstacles to proteomics have been the slow and expensive methods of amino acid analysis and protein N-and C-terminal sequencing, two core methods pivotal to protein science.  Amino acid analysis is the most accurate method to determine the molar amount of a protein and is used for protein identification and quality control analysis of proteins and protein products.  Protein sequencing is pivotal to biological research.  Current methods for amino acid analysis and protein end group sequencing are far too slow and expensive for proteomics.  At Aminoarrays, Inc we are replacing these "one-at-a-time" analyses by miniaturized array systems that can analyze up to thousands of samples simultaneously.  Aminoarrays' new technologies will have a dramatic impact on proteomics, will increase productivity in numerous industries, and will accelerate the drug discovery and development process with numerous benefits for mankind.

Dr. Edward Shipwash, founder of NanoBioDynamics, Inc (now AminoArrays, Inc.), recently discovered a totally new approach to analyzing the 20 natural protein amino acids.  This breakthrough is expected to revolutionize proteomics and increase productivity in numerous industries, notably the biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, food technology and biomedical industries.  His startling insight was to realize that living organisms already do a near perfect job of identifying amino acids by using the aminoacyl t-RNA synthetase/t-RNA system.  Each of the 20 amino acids has a unique enzyme (synthetase) that attaches it to a specific t-RNA.  Indeed, the critical fidelity of protein synthesis depends upon the remarkable ability of each synthetase to recognize its cognate amino acid and attach it to its specific tRNA.  Rather than separating the amino acids by chromatography, each synthetase or a tRNA specific for each amino acid is spatially separated (arrayed).  Furthermore, Dr. Shipwash has discovered that by using a molecule that specifically binds the amino acid-tRNA complex, ultrasensitive microarrays can be invented for massively paralleled amino acid analysis.  The reactions catalyzed by the 20 synthetases are monitored simultaneously on the array and each of the 20 amino acids is quantitatively identified.  Microarrays using fluorescent labels typically achieve attomole sensitivity and can analyze up to thousands of samples simultaneously.  Depending on the array density, it is possible to identify and determine the molar amount of all proteins expressed in both normal and diseased cells in a single experiment.  This represents a 1,000-fold increase in sensitivity over the current art instruments for amino acid analysis and at least a 1000-fold increase in throughput.

Elaborating on this invention, Dr. Shipwash has discovered a way to construct microarrays and a microfluidic system on a biochip for protein end group sequencing.  The method can sequence intact proteins starting from either the N- or C- terminal end using tiny amounts of sample and reagents.  These arrays for protein sequencing should enable sequencing of thousands of protein per day with simultaneous N- and C-terminal sequencing on the same biochip platform.  In some embodiments, rapid (real time) protein end group sequencing is possible.  These miniaturized and massively paralleled technologies are fast, cheap, and extraordinarily sensitive.  Furthermore, these are the only technologies to simultaneously identify and quantitate proteins.  Our rapid and high throughput end group sequencing, both the N- and C-terminal ends, will enable the identification of post translational modifications such as limited proteolysis.  A common and important regulatory event, limited proteolysis is involved in a multiplicity of diseases..  Dr. Shipwash's methods are especially enabling for proteomics, which aims to study thousands of proteins at a time.  In order to exploit his inventions, Dr. Shipwash has formed NanoBioDynamics, Inc.  (AminoArrays, Inc.) and has assigned the U.S.  patent right of these invention and their offshoots to the company.