• PDAC
• cell surface proteins
• bottom-up proteomics

The study of membrane proteins is of particular interest in clinical research, since they are involved in many biological processes such as cellular communication and cellular recognition. Their location on the cell surface makes them attractive targets for pharmaceutical intervention, indeed they represent the majority of targets for pharmaceutical drugs. This work is focused on the analysis of PDAC (Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma) cells. PDAC is the most common form of pancreatic cancer. It has a five-year survival rate below 10% due to the fact that it is usually diagnosed in an advanced state when the available therapeutic treatments are largely ineffective. The hydrophobicity of membrane proteins and the embedding of the transmembrane domains within the phospholipid bilayer of the membrane means their extraction is more difficult with respect to the total cellular proteome. For this reason, specific methods of extraction and identification are required. The aim of this work is the optimization of a method for cell surface proteomics for small sample amounts.