Until recently, characterizing proteins was done slowly. But with the many candidates in the newly sequenced genomes crying out for attention, and the lure of complex protein assemblies beckoning, labs are gearing up to look at many proteins simultaneously.

The key to making such a system work lies in replacing error-prone humans with spot-picking robots, guided by cameras and sophisticated image-analysis software. The Australian company ARRM has a system that excises spots from gels or polyvinylidene fluoride membranes and places them in a 96-well plate for subsequent proteolysis.

Genetix, of New Milton, UK, uses a line of sample-preparation, gel-spotting and spot-excision units. Soon these will be joined by a machine to prepare MALDI samples automatically, thus helping to integrate raw samples and mass fingerprints. Genetix is also getting into chip arrays and yeast two-hybrid systems, two automated ways of looking at protein interactions. Other major players in lab automation are Amersham Biosciences in Uppsala, Sweden, Bio-Rad in Hercules, California, and Genomic Solutions in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Lab-on-a-CD systems from Gyros. Credit: GYROS

Large Scale Biology in Germantown, Maryland, and Oxford Glycoscience in Cambridge, UK, aim to automate the entire protein-discovery process in humidity-controlled, robot-populated buildings. Here massive amounts of samples would travel through the pipeline from gel to mass spectrometer and data.

But harking back to the idea that small is beautiful, another school of thought sees a nano future for the science in 'lab-on-a-chip' technologies such as those of Caliper, of Fremont, California, and Gyros in Uppsala. Gyros has updated an idea from the 1970s by engraving microscale channels and mixing chambers on a compact disc. Centrifugal force and controlled surface chemistry are used to regulate the flow of liquid through the CD. Despite the small size of the system, the price tag will probably ensure that it will mainly be used by big pharmaceutical companies or 'protein factories' rather than small independent labs.