MORGANTOWN -- Protea Biosciences has just received its second U.S. patent for a new method of separating individual proteins at the molecular level.

The patent is titled "Gel Electrocution and sample separation devices and associated processes."

It can make tumor biopsies and other tissue samples more useful in finding disease and developing treatments.

"There are thousands of proteins in there, and you're looking for one or two of those that may be disease-specific," said Protea founder and C.E.O. Steve Turner, "and those are potential targets for diagnostics or for pharmaceutical development. Think of this invention as a way to pull those proteins apart so you can separate them and look at them one by one."

Protea Biosciences has nine other patents pending on other protein technologies.