Your need: to analyse proteins, even trace amounts or complex mixtures, to ensure the quality of your products
What is a protein?
A protein is a macromolecule made up of amino acids, essential to biological processes and key to biopharmaceutical development.
In the biopharmaceutical industry, protein analysis is used to understand the structure, function and purity of proteins, parameters that are key to guaranteeing the safety and efficacy of innovative treatments.
It also plays a fundamental role in the characterization of recombinant proteins and the development of biomedicines.
Our services for proteins
Detecting, quantifying and analysing proteins
Detecting, quantifying and analysing proteins are three key and complementary steps:
- Detecting: involves identifying the presence of a protein, which is essential for validating a hypothesis or a product with a protein identification test.
- Quantifying: involves measuring its concentration with precision, guaranteeing the effectiveness and reproducibility of treatments, using protein assay methods (Bradford, Lowry, UV spectrophotometry, etc.).
- Analysing: involves exploring the structure and function of proteins, using advanced approaches such as mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).
These actions meet quality and safety requirements, particularly in the biopharmaceutical sector.
The different types of proteins
Proteins are divided into several types according to their biological role:
- Structural: support tissues (e.g. collagen, keratin).
- Enzymatic: they catalyse chemical reactions (e.g. amylase, DNA polymerase).
- Transport: carry molecules (e.g. haemoglobin, albumin).
- Signalling: transmit cellular signals (e.g. insulin, growth factors).
- Defence: protect the body (e.g. antibodies).
- Reserve: store nutrients or ions (e.g. ferritin, casein).
- Motor: enable movement (e.g. myosin, actin).
- Receptors: capture signals (e.g. rhodopsin).
Thanks to advances in proteomics, it is now possible to analyse these different categories in detail to better understand their role and their biological interactions.
Why have a protein analysis?
Protein analysis is essential in biopharmaceuticals for :
- Characterization: identifying the structure, post-translational modifications and interactions of proteins to guarantee their functionality.
- Biomedicine development: ensuring the quality, efficacy and safety of antibodies, enzymes or vaccines.
- Quality control: detecting impurities or contaminants in biopharmaceutical products.
- Diagnostics and research: identifying protein biomarkers for monitoring diseases and exploring new therapeutic targets.
This enables us to meet the sector’s rigorous requirements while promoting innovation in treatments and biotechnology products.
FILAB uses cutting-edge technologies to carry out tailor-made analyses to detect, quantify and characterize your proteins
Why choose FILAB for protein analysis?
For more than 30 years, the FILAB laboratory has had the experience and specific analytical equipment to support manufacturers in protein analysis today.
The support of an expert laboratory such as FILAB enables you to better understand the strategic challenges and changes in your sector. Our specialised engineers will support you throughout your protein analysis protocol.
Expertise in plant matrices and complex traces
Our services enable the detection and analysis of proteins, whether of plant origin or present in trace amounts in complex extracts.
- Plant proteins: identification and quantification of proteins in plant matrices for nutritional or functional applications.
- Trace detection: analysis of specific proteins in low concentrations in plant extracts.
Protein characterization methods
Accurate measurement of protein concentration is useful for both basic research and industrial product development.
- HPLC analysis: high-performance liquid chromatography for separating and quantifying proteins.
- Raman spectroscopy: identification of protein structures and study of structural modifications.
- Mass Spectrometry: precise analysis of molecular masses to identify proteins and their post-translational modifications.
Understanding the function and structure of proteins is essential for developing active cosmetics, medicines and food products.
- Functional analysis of proteins: study of protein-protein interactions and enzymatic activities.
- Protein domain analysis by NMR: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance for a detailed structural analysis of protein domains.
- Protein sequence analysis: decoding amino acid sequences to better understand their biological functions.
Samples containing complex mixtures of proteins require specific analytical approaches:
- Analysis of protein mixtures: methodologies for separating, identifying and quantifying proteins in complex matrices.
- Serum proteins: specific analyses of proteins present in sera for medical or biopharmaceutical applications.
- Identification of protein contaminants: detection and quantification of foreign proteins present in biopharmaceutical preparations.
FAQ
Protein analysis is essential in biopharmaceuticals to guarantee the quality, safety and efficacy of biomedicines, such as monoclonal antibodies or therapeutic enzymes. It enables impurities to be detected, the structure of proteins to be characterised and their stability to be verified, particularly in the context of compliance with regulatory standards.
The main methods include mass spectrometry to identify proteins and their modifications, liquid chromatography (HPLC) for quantification, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for structural analysis. These advanced techniques meet exacting requirements in terms of precision and sensitivity.
The analysis of proteins helps to understand their structure and function, which is essential for designing targeted biomedicines. It can also be used to identify biomarkers for diagnosis, check the purity of formulations and predict the efficacy of treatments, speeding up the research and development process.
Proteins play an essential role in cosmetics, particularly hydrolysed proteins, such as rice proteins, which are analysed for their anti-ageing, moisturising and repairing properties. They enhance the effectiveness of skincare products while meeting the skin's specific needs.
Protein analysis in the food industry guarantees the nutritional and functional quality of products. It enables proteins to be detected and quantified to ensure compliance with standards and to optimise their value for consumers.
