In Vitro Cell-Free Synthetic Biology Techniques for Optimizing Protein Yields | AIChE

In Vitro Cell-Free Synthetic Biology Techniques for Optimizing Protein Yields

In
Vitro Cell-Free Synthetic Biology techniques for optimizing protein yields

The
emerging field of Cell-free protein synthesis enables the efficient production
of complex proteins for a number of exciting applications such as medicines
that better interact with the body, vaccines, antibodies, and renewable,
sustainable biocatalysts. However, progress is hampered by high costs and low
yields of necessary proteins. This project is designed to improve protein
yields and drive down costs by studying techniques of optimization of protein
yields in Cell-Free protein synthesis. Our main area of focus is the inhibition
of naturally occurring ribonucleases (RNAses) which are enzymes that degrade essential
elements for protein synthesis- specifically, the mRNA used to transcribe protein.
RNA is by nature an unstable molecule prone to rapid degradation by ubiquitous
RNAse proteins. One of the techniques we intend to use for inhibition of these
RNAses is by introducing to our system an RNAse inhibitor. By complexing the
RNAse with an appropriate RNAse inhibitor we are able to limit its function of
degrading mRNA. Current inhibitors are expensive to produce and purchase and
some are often incompatible with in vitro systems. The purpose of this poster
is to present research findings on the viability of inexpensive chemical RNAse
inhibitor and its use in Cell Free systems. Cost analysis and future applications
will also be explored and presented. This work has potential impact on
designing more efficient in vitro systems for less expensive, more readily
available vaccines and pharmaceuticals produced through Cell-free protein
synthesis.