The challenge with accurate mass calculation for large protein molecules is the mass defect associated with the measurement. As a result, only average masses can be measured. Minor elemental mass differences may accumulate causing significant discrepancies in large paratherapeutic molecules like monoclonal antibodies.
Our tool explicitly addresses the challenge in the consistent mass calculation for antibody-based therapeutics, such as MAPs, bispecifics, and antibody drug conjugates. Researchers in the commercial biopharmaceutical development space have to rely on manual calculation or tools that don't depend on communication with external servers due to the involvement of proprietary information. Existing tools either require a license or are not built considering the specific needs of biopharmaceutical development.
MapScale offers a user-friendly interface and adaptable open source framework for users and developers. It supports maintaining multiple versions of elemental masses and modification lists, and allows list sharing to maintain consistency in calculations. The code can be shared on an enterprise level using internal servers or cloud-based deployment with controlled access to protect proprietary information.