Standardized SDS-PAGE Workflow for Personalized Protein Corona Profiling in Early Cancer Detection

The formation of a personalized protein corona (PC) on nanoparticles (NPs) upon exposure to biological fluids has emerged as a promising, minimally invasive strategy for early cancer detection. This study introduces a standardized protocol for profiling the protein corona using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), optimized to ensure robustness, reproducibility, and automation. The method was rigorously validated across a variety of nanoparticle (NP) platforms, plasma sources, and experimental conditions, demonstrating consistently reproducible profiles with minimal operator-dependent variability. In comparison to conventional proteomics techniques, this approach offers a faster, more cost-effective solution that meets the World Health Organization's REASSURED criteria for diagnostics. When applied to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a highly aggressive malignancy with limited early biomarkers, this workflow achieved classification accuracies of up to 90%, even in early-stage patients. This standardized platform marks a significant advancement towards scalable, clinically translatable, and affordable diagnostic tools for cancer screening.