A device for studying protein conformation transformation can include a macroscopic substrate, and chaperonin proteins bound to the substrate, each chaperonin protein being capable of binding to a protein of interest during or after undergoing protein conformation transformation. The device may also include the proteins of interest bound to the substrate, where the substrate is included in a label-free assay system. A method of studying protein conformation transformation can include: providing a macroscopic substrate bound with the chaperonin protein and immersing the chaperonin protein in a study composition having the protein of interest, or include providing a macroscopic substrate bound with the protein of interest; and immersing the protein in a study composition having the chaperonin. Such a method can be done with and without a potential stabilizer in order to determine whether the potential stabilizer stabilizes the protein of interest.

Certain embodiments of the invention provide conjugates, chemically self-assembled nanoring (CSAN), and cell modified with CSAN as described herein. Certain embodiments of the invention provide a method for cell-based drug delivery. Certain embodiments of the invention provide a method of transferring a cargo from a sender cell to a receiver cell as described herein.

Methods are provided for determining the diagnosis of whether a liver mass is a benign hepatocellular adenoma or a pre-malignant hepatocellular dysplastic nodule and/or a malignant hepatocellular carcinoma. Specific protein fragment peptides are precisely detected and quantitated by SRM-mass spectrometry directly in liver mass cells collected from liver mass tissue that was obtained from a patient suffering from the liver mass and compared to reference levels in order to determine if the liver mass is a benign growth or a pre-cancer and/or cancer.

This disclosure relates to a virus-like particle in which a small molecule-protein complex is entrapped, ensuring the formation of the small molecule-protein complex under physiological conditions, while protecting the small molecule-protein complex during purification and identification. The disclosure further relates to the use of such virus-like particle for the isolation and identification of small molecule-protein complexes.

A device for studying protein conformation transformation can include a macroscopic substrate, and chaperonin proteins bound to the substrate, each chaperonin protein being capable of binding to a protein of interest during or after undergoing protein conformation transformation. The device may also include the proteins of interest bound to the substrate, where the substrate is included in a label-free assay system. A method of studying protein conformation transformation can include: providing a macroscopic substrate bound with the chaperonin protein and immersing the chaperonin protein in a study composition having the protein of interest, or include providing a macroscopic substrate bound with the protein of interest; and immersing the protein in a study composition having the chaperonin. Such a method can be done with and without a potential stabilizer in order to determine whether the potential stabilizer stabilizes the protein of interest.