MOBILion Partners with Investigators at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center at the University of Georgia for COVID-19 Glycan Analysis

CHADDS FORDS, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MOBILion Systems, Inc. is partnering with Drs. Lance Wells and Michael Tiemeyer, pioneering researchers at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC), University of Georgia, to conduct COVID-19 glycan analysis using the company’s patented SLIM (Structures for Lossless Ion Mobility) separations technology.

The new project aims to detail the glycosylation microheterogeneity in the spike glycoprotein that decorates the surface of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) viral capsid. Understanding the heterogeneity in glycosylation on the surface protein will add to the understanding of how the virus binds to its target and will be essential in development of an effective treatment. SLIM technology offers the potential to achieve very high resolution of compounds of interest and dramatically increase throughput, leading to more meaningful results in a shorter amount of time.

According to Dr. Lance Wells, Director of the CCRC, "Given the importance of understanding the glycan profiles of viral spike proteins, including the heavily glycoslyated SARS-CoV-2 (COVID19) spike protein, for developing antibodies and vaccines, it is important to be able to do quantitative glycomics and glycoproteomics. We are very excited to work with the MOBILion SLIM technology and team and believe this will be a new opportunity for rapid, reproducible, and quantitative approaches to facilitate high-throughput detailed analyses of multiple glycoproteins whether that be variants of a viral spike protein or QC on different batches of a biologic."

“Providing better, faster glycan analysis gives researchers valuable insight into how to fight this novel virus. We are excited to be part of such a meaningful project contributing to finding the solution to eradicate COVID-19,” said Melissa Sherman, CEO, MOBILion Systems Inc.

SLIM technology was invented in the lab of Dr. Richard D. Smith at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. MOBILion has exclusive license to offer SLIM technology for life science applications. To learn more about MOBILion’s technology, which has been extensively validated, visit https://mobilionsystems.com/.

About MOBILion Systems, Inc.

MOBILion Systems is enabling advancements in disease diagnosis and treatment by commercializing instruments to separate, identify and analyze the most challenging molecules that other instruments fail to detect. MOBILion’s separations technology provides higher resolution, faster analysis and simpler workflows to reveal molecules that are most important in characterizing biologic therapeutics, discovering biomarkers, and improving the accuracy of diagnostic tests. Processing population-scale samples in days versus years and detecting molecules other instruments miss make today’s treatment’s safer and more effective, accelerate tomorrow’s disease prediction and diagnosis, and enhance the development of new therapies. The company is headquartered in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania within the Philadelphia biopharmaceutical and medical innovation corridor.

About Drs. Wells and Tiemeyer and the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center at the University of Georgia

The Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC) was founded at the University of Georgia (UGA) in September 1985 to answer the national need for a center devoted to increasing knowledge of the structures and functions of complex carbohydrates, also known as glycans. The CCRC is home to 17 principal investigators that are funded by various federal agencies and commercial partners. The basic research of Drs. Wells and Tiemeyer, two of these investigators, utilizes multiple -omic technologies to understand how glycans modulate biological functions in development and disease. Glycans play key roles in a broad range of biological recognition and regulatory phenomena -- cellular communication, gene expression, immunology, organism defense mechanisms, growth and development. The goal of the CCRC as a whole is to direct more research attention and investment toward elucidating the chemical structures and biological functions of the glycans involved in these processes, to train more glycoscientists, and to bring together the multidisciplinary expertise and the advanced instrumentation required to serve the scientific community.

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