| Apr 20, 2012 |
License agreement to provide membrane scaffold proteins for nanodisc technology to the research community
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(Nanowerk News) Sigma-Aldrich Corporation and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have entered into a licensing agreement through which Sigma-Aldrich will offer two widely-used membrane scaffold proteins used in Nanodisc technology, developed by Professor Stephen Sligar, Director of the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology.
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"The Nanodisc technology is enabling life science researchers to elucidate the structure and function of critical membrane proteins in a way not previously possible," said Robert Gates, Market Segment Manager for Sigma-Aldrich. "The diversity of applications and the significance of the advancement each time a new protein is incorporated into a Nanodisc demonstrate the importance of having a universal tool for such a broad scope of fundamental research."
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Nanodiscs are self-assembled systems that render soluble in aqueous media typically insoluble yet biologically and pharmacologically significant targets, including receptors, transporters, enzymes, and viral antigens. Nanodisc constructs provide a native-like bilayer environment and maintain a target's functional activity, providing a versatile tool in the study of membrane proteins such as GPCRs, cytochrome P450s, bacteriorhodopsins, coagulation factors, cholera toxins, and Tar receptors. Since their introduction, Nanodiscs have been used in a diverse set of applications such as kinetic studies, structural analysis, imaging measurements, binding assays, and drug discovery. In 2011 alone, more than 25 independent groups published papers based on Nanodisc technology.
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Sigma-Aldrich will feature the membrane scaffold proteins MSP1D1 and MSP1E3D1 as part of its innovative Sigma Life Science product portfolio. MSP's utilize the amphipathic properties found in Apolipoprotein A-1 to provide a multi-helical scaffold for incorporation of a range of target protein sizes. More information on these products is available at sigma-aldrich.com.
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"We are proud to partner with Sigma-Aldrich Corporation to provide the membrane scaffold proteins that underpin the broadly applicable Nanodisc system," said Lesley Millar, Director of the Office of Technology Management at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "We believe this alliance will further extend the impact of Nanodiscs in basic research as well as diagnostic and therapeutic developments."
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Professor Sligar is also the I.C. Gunsalus Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and was recently named to the American Chemical Society's list of the fifty most prolific writers in the journal Biochemistry. He has won numerous awards, and is a Fellow of the Biophysical Society and the AAAS.
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