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Project
De novo design of a steroid biosensor and characterization of its steroids fingerprinting ability. (FWOSB216)
Measuring biomarkers is critical for medical diagnostics and biosafety. Currently, the primary method
for detecting biomarkers is LC-MS, which requires heavy machinery, expert workers and high costs. A
cheaper, user-friendly biosensing technology is needed, and nanopore fingerprinting is promising.
Thus, I will build upon recent successes in nanopore design and develop a nanopore capable of
detecting and differentiating within a small molecule family. For this proof-of-concept, I will focus on
steroids, due to their importance in human health and the impact of steroid endocrine disruptors on
ecosystems.
I hypothesize the commonality between steroids will enable the design of a general binding site,
while their differences will produce distinct electrophysiology signals, thus allowing for steroid
fingerprinting. I will computationally design TMBs with a helical lumen domain (a cork) and validate
them experimentally. This will enable the in silico design of a steroid binding site in the lumen of the
cork-TMB with a higher success rate. Finally, I will test the biosensor experimentally and assess its
steroid fingerprinting capabilities. I will use de novo design, a booming field allowing the design of
new-to-nature protein sequences with tailored properties and functions.
Successfully carrying out this project will provide the first cork-TMB design, proof of concept of a
nanopore steroid biosensor that could then be transformed into a commercial steroid sensor
for detecting biomarkers is LC-MS, which requires heavy machinery, expert workers and high costs. A
cheaper, user-friendly biosensing technology is needed, and nanopore fingerprinting is promising.
Thus, I will build upon recent successes in nanopore design and develop a nanopore capable of
detecting and differentiating within a small molecule family. For this proof-of-concept, I will focus on
steroids, due to their importance in human health and the impact of steroid endocrine disruptors on
ecosystems.
I hypothesize the commonality between steroids will enable the design of a general binding site,
while their differences will produce distinct electrophysiology signals, thus allowing for steroid
fingerprinting. I will computationally design TMBs with a helical lumen domain (a cork) and validate
them experimentally. This will enable the in silico design of a steroid binding site in the lumen of the
cork-TMB with a higher success rate. Finally, I will test the biosensor experimentally and assess its
steroid fingerprinting capabilities. I will use de novo design, a booming field allowing the design of
new-to-nature protein sequences with tailored properties and functions.
Successfully carrying out this project will provide the first cork-TMB design, proof of concept of a
nanopore steroid biosensor that could then be transformed into a commercial steroid sensor
Date:1 Nov 2025 → Today
Keywords:Small molecule (steroids) bio-sensing, Nanopore, De novo protein design
Disciplines:Biomarker evaluation, Medical biotechnology diagnostics, Metabolomics, Computational biomodelling and machine learning