See What Others Cannot
LuciDrop unlocks the deep plasma proteome — revealing 14,000+ proteins from a single drop of blood where current methods see fewer than 1,000.
The 10¹⁰ Problem
Blood plasma contains thousands of proteins spanning an extraordinary ten-billion-fold concentration range. Albumin alone accounts for over half of total protein mass, while the most informative biomarkers — the ones that signal early disease — exist at concentrations a billion times lower. Current mass spectrometry can only see across four orders of magnitude. The result: over 90% of the proteome is invisible.
Ion Suppression
High-abundance proteins like albumin and immunoglobulins dominate the mass spectrometer signal, suppressing detection of everything else.
Instrument Dynamic Range
Even the best LC-MS/MS instruments achieve only 10⁴ dynamic range — six orders of magnitude short of the plasma proteome.
Lost Biomarkers
The proteins most relevant to early disease detection, drug response, and precision medicine are precisely the ones current methods cannot see.
Kinetic Fractionation
LuciDrop uses a proprietary multi-stage fractionation process to separate plasma proteins by abundance before they reach the mass spectrometer. Each stage compresses the dynamic range into a window the instrument can resolve — making the invisible visible.
The Dynamic Range Problem in Plasma Proteomics
Albumin (50 mg/mL) to IL-6 (4 pg/mL) · 10¹⁰ abundance span · rare biomarkers obscured by ion suppression
Abundance-Biased Separation
High-abundance proteins are captured in the first stages while rare biomarkers pass through to later fractions, each enriched for progressively lower-abundance species.
No Special Instruments
LuciDrop works upstream of any standard LC-MS/MS system. The output is MS-ready — no proprietary readers, no platform lock-in.
Reproducible at Scale
Median CV below 10% across fractions. Designed for clinical cohort studies and regulated environments where reproducibility is non-negotiable.
From Sample to Discovery
LuciDrop transforms a 10 µL blood sample into the deepest plasma proteome dataset available today. This depth unlocks applications that were previously impossible with existing sample preparation technologies.
Biomarker Discovery
Access the 90%+ of the proteome that current methods miss. Discover novel biomarkers for early disease detection, patient stratification, and treatment response monitoring.
Drug Target Identification
Interrogate the complete proteome landscape to identify actionable drug targets with high confidence. See pharmacodynamic changes that conventional proteomics cannot resolve.
Clinical Cohort Profiling
Profile large clinical cohorts with fingerprick sampling and walk-away sample preparation. Generate publication-quality datasets at a fraction of current cost and turnaround time.
Multi-omics Integration
Combine deep proteomics data with genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics to build comprehensive biological models of disease and treatment.
Better Data. Better Discovery.
augurus.ai is our computational intelligence platform, purpose-built to extract maximum biological insight from the unprecedented depth of LuciDrop proteomics data.
When you can see 14,000+ proteins instead of 900, you don't just see more — you see differently. Patterns emerge that were invisible before. Disease signatures become resolvable. Drug targets reveal themselves. But exploiting this depth demands computational approaches designed for the unique characteristics of deep proteome data.
augurus.ai combines advanced machine learning with deep domain expertise in proteomics to accelerate the path from raw mass spectrometry data to actionable biological insight — identifying candidate biomarkers, nominating drug targets, and building predictive models for clinical decision-making.
Target Nomination
AI-driven identification of novel drug targets from deep proteome profiles, with automated pathway analysis and druggability assessment.
Biomarker Signatures
Machine learning models that identify multi-protein signatures for disease classification, prognosis, and treatment response prediction.
Diagnostic Development
From discovery through validation to clinical-grade diagnostic panels — augurus.ai accelerates the entire translational pipeline.
Precision Medicine Enabled
LuciDrop and augurus.ai together create a vertically integrated platform for proteomics-driven precision medicine — from sample preparation through AI-powered analysis to clinical application.
Oncology
Early detection signatures, minimal residual disease monitoring, and companion diagnostic development from deep plasma proteomics.
Neurodegeneration
Blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other neurodegenerative conditions — accessible via fingerprick sampling.
Cardiovascular Disease
Risk stratification and treatment response monitoring through comprehensive protein profiling from minimal blood volumes.
Pharmaceutical R&D
Pharmacodynamic biomarker discovery, mechanism-of-action studies, and responder enrichment for clinical trials across all therapeutic areas.
Population Health
Scalable, low-volume sampling enables population-scale proteomics screening programmes — unlocking the liquid health check.
Our Team
Ijeoma Uchegbu
DBE FMedSci FRSCProfessor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience at UCL and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Over 25 years pioneering nanoparticle drug delivery systems. Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society of Chemistry. Wellcome Trust Board member.
Andreas Schätzlein
PhDPharmaceutical scientist and serial biotech entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience translating university research into clinical-stage companies. Co-founded Nanomerics (clinical-stage drug delivery) and now leads AugurusBio’s commercial and strategic direction.
Jiajin He
PhDInventor of the LuciDrop platform. Doctoral research at UCL focused on nanoparticle-based plasma proteomics fractionation, achieving record-breaking proteome depth from minimal sample volumes.
Invest in the Deep Proteome
AugurusBio is seeking strategic partners and investors to scale LuciDrop and augurus.ai from breakthrough science to global impact. We welcome conversations with venture capital, strategic pharma partners, and institutional investors who share our vision for proteomics-driven precision medicine.
Investment
Seed and Series A discussions
Strategic Partnership
Pharma, CRO, and diagnostic company collaborations
Academic Collaboration
Clinical cohort studies and research partnerships