In-line liquid chromatography-native mass spectrometry method to screening bioactive compounds from natural sources

• Grant number: 19/14629-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: September 01, 2019
• End date: August 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Quezia Bezerra Cass
• Grantee: Juliana Maria de Lima
• Supervisor: Neil John Oldham
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Nottingham, University Park, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 18/11109-7 - Rapid ligand screening models in natural products through ligand fishing assays and LC-HRMS, BP.PD

Abstract

Methods that allow the rapid screening of potential drugs against protein targets are highly sought after. Traditional approaches employ a specific biological/biochemical assay to monitor the activity of (usually) pure chemicals from large compound collection libraries. Current techniques that allow mixtures of compounds to be screened individually for binding to protein targets are scarce, and often of limited utility. Oldham group have demonstrated that in-line liquid chromatography-native mass spectrometry has the potential to provide a generic platform to identify bioactive compounds for therapeutic targets. Native ESI-MS is an existing, specialist, technique able to detect non-covalent complexes between proteins and ligands. In this context, the LC-native MS platform will be used for screening binders to protein FKBP and acetylcholinesterase from crude microbial and plant sources.