AFM-MS for Protein Analysis of Plasma Samples of Patients with Ovarian Cancer

Abstract

An atomic force microscope (AFM) is a molecular detector that allows the recording of individual proteins and protein complexes on the surface of an atomically flat substrate, the AFM chip. Registration of target proteins is carried out after the fishing procedure — catching out of proteins from the volume of the analyzed solution to a surface of a small area (sensory zone of the chip) modified by affinity reagents against the target protein. The use of the procedure of biospecific enrichment makes it possible to effectively concentrate the molecules of the target proteins in an amount sufficient for the subsequent mass spectrometric analysis for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer in blood samples.