The new kits are optimized for characterization of proteins in the MEK and ERK families, which play critical roles in cancer cell survival and proliferation. Drug developers have targeted signaling via MEK and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) with a number of kinase inhibitor anticancer drugs.
The Firefly 3000 system is an ultrasensitive nanofluidic immunoassay system designed to analyze extremely small biological samples. Traditional protein analysis techniques can require as many as 100,000 cells, which generally precludes protein analysis in precious clinical samples.
By using the new analysis kits on the Firefly 3000 system, researchers can obtain detailed profiles of MEK and ERK signaling in as few as 25 cells. Subtle effects of kinase inhibitor drugs on MEK and ERK phosphorylation can be studied in cancer cells and solid tumor samples, the company said.
Wilhelm Lachnit, vice president of R&D, said: “We developed these oncoprotein analysis kits in response to strong interest from our cancer research customers. They enable robust analysis of MEK and ERK phosphoprotein signaling, and provide a unique window into the specific actions of kinase inhibitor drugs in limited samples.”