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The aim of Proteopresso is to become a comprehensive piece of Open Source hardware common used as a chromatographic instrumentation in a molecular biology context. Distributed chromatography through open source could enable the purification of high value biomolecules including recombinant proteins, hormones, secondary metabolites etc, using a reconfigurable and programable automated platform. 

 

The first step will be to implement the method as a prototype and evaluate the performance of the platform at a small scale. In a subsequent phase of development, we will integrate the developed method into an automated, open access platform to enable production of hundreds of samples per hour. Our proposed strategy will make use of existing production facilities, existing open hardware software and existing infrastructure for automation (additive manufacture and consumer electronic microcontrollers) and data analysis to produce a suite of services and tools that will allow users to optimize the process, to create and analyze data, and to access quality control information. This will enable a large number of users with different levels of expertise to collaborate and create new tools and services. The ability to quickly develop new analytical platforms, tools, methods and software, together with access to resources and infrastructure, will help to accelerate the move towards the bio-manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and the automated study of genetically engineered organisms.

 

Proteopresso’s mission is to grant access to the technical knowledge to build up a multifunctional device which central performance is focused on the purification of diverse biomolecules e.g. recombinant proteins. Although, due to is mechanical robustness, the system can be enabled for several functions beyond chromatography including 3D printing of cells and tissues, sorting out grow vessels, and to perform automated optical recognition for crops phenotype analysis in plants and tissues.    

 

A way to enable potential end-users mastering the complexity of chromatography and automated crops and phenotypification is through recurring to a combination of Bioimaging, and liquid and samples handling automation. Integrated under one platform, one of Proteopresso’s goals is to promote the culture of horizontally sharing chromatography protocols. Its GUI (under construction) will facilitate the incorporation of purification methods contributed by its user though a global repository and through a unified standardization. 

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Other central goals of Proteopresso are to provide its users with the capabilities for excelling in:  

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• Understand the key differences in separation methodology and instrument types. 

• Use common separation and analytical techniques to study bio-macromolecular interactions.

• Design and select the right separation equipment implantation to meet the needs of their research. 

• Prepare samples for chromo-analysis. 

• Demonstrate the basic principles of using chromotrophes and other molecular detection methods

• Apply chromotropic methods in their hands-on applications. 

• Create an analytical chromological library (Chromatograph Data Hub) by assembling the knowledge gained from the users experience* 

• Access chromophysical data through the online Chromatograph Data Hub (Under construction).

• Analyze chromographic data using the Chromatic Analysis Tool (CAT) and explore the rich datasets that are contained in Chromato 1.0v (GUI, under development). 

• Gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics and nature of biomaterials through chromatographic techniques. 

• Explore the use and applications of CDH and Chromate 1.0v in its own right and as part of other chromogen detection approaches. 

• Develop and use ChromatoTools and ChromatoPlantsTools  for the analysis of samples in plants and tissues.

• Measure the concentration of one or more chromogens in solution by using Chromotropes standards. 

• Discover the uses and limitations of fluorescent techniques in particular molecular toolboxes.

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Team: 

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Adrian Filip (Ottawa BioScience): Product design and systems engineering.

Alexander Yakovlev (Ottawa BioScience): Systems engineering and machine learning 

Whaleeha Gudiño, PhD  (Glyxon MX): Plants Eco-physiological studies (Project Leader).

David J. Castillo PhD     (Glyxon MX): Surface chemistry and soft materials biophysics.  

Andreas Stürmer MSc  (T-Forschung, AUST): Synthetic Biology engineering. 

We are open for further collaborations with bio-makers, independent researchers, academics or entrepreneurs  

GitHub under construction*