Magnetic Materials for the Selective Analysis of Peptide and Protein Biomarkers

This mini-review article provides an overview on the use of magnetic materials for the analysis of protein biomarkers. In particular, the advantage provided by magnetic solid phase extraction will be discussed with selected examples, considering untargeted analysis for screening new biomarker proteins and targeted investigation on known and suggested new biomarkers. Aspects, such as enrichment efficiency over conventional techniques, ease of use, functionalization versatility and automation will be considered, together with quantification and deeper structure elucidation provided by coupling selective or specific enrichment to powerful characterization techniques, such as mass spectrometry. Keywords: Magnetic beads, magnetic solid phase extraction, protein biomarker, new materials, biomarker enrichment, biomarker quantification.