Differential Sensing Differential sensing with arrays of de novo designed peptide assemblies

Researchers in Chemistry, Biochemistry, the Bristol BioDesign Institute, and the local spin-out company, Rosa Biotech, have developed a new way to detect differences between complex mixtures, including blood samples.  This involves using arrays of de novo designed proteins that sense the presence of small-molecule metabolites and report on different compositions of these in the mixtures.  For example, the team has shown that the new technology can distinguish blood samples from healthy volunteers and those with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NASH).  The work is published in Nature Communications, and can be found here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-36024-y.  It has been led by the Woolfson group and is in collaboration with scientists at GSK and the University of Bristol spin-out company Rosa Biotech.