Minal Dayaram

Thesis Title: Advancing Structural and Spatial Proteomics by Non-Enzymatic Fragmentation

Franklin Supervisors: Dr Felicia Green, Dr Daniel McGill, Professor Andrew Baldwin, Dr Lucile Moynie

University: Imperial College London

University Supervisors: Professor Zoltan Takats

External Collaborators: Diamond Light Source, Kavli Institute (University of Oxford), Department of Pharmacology (University of Oxford), National Phenome Centre

Cold Argon Plasma (CAP) is a novel, non-enzymatic protein fragmentation technique that produces free electrons, reactive ions, and radicals to cleave proteins and peptides under ambient conditions.
Unlike traditional enzymatic digestion methods (e.g., trypsin), CAP preserves spatial resolution and minimises sample preparation. This enables the potential for detailed chemical characterisation, detection of subtle conformational changes, and identification of post-translational modifications (PTMs) directly from biological samples.

The research aims to elucidate the mechanisms by which CAP influences protein structure and chemistry, and to identify plasma-induced molecular signatures that distinguish disease from non-disease states. These investigations employ a range of analytical techniques, including LC-MS, NMR, CD, and MSI, with a biological focus on EGFR mutations in lung cancer.

Minal graduated from the University of Kent with a BSc in Biochemistry with a Placement Year. During her final year, she investigated the solvent accessibility of the AlaE efflux membrane pump in E. coli, providing valuable insights into its role in antibiotic resistance.