Cell-Free Display Screening

Ribosome display relies on non-covalent complexes (protein-ribosome-mRNA), while mRNA display achieves covalent linkage through puromycin—a small molecule that forms a permanent amide bond with the growing polypeptide chain.

mRNA display offers greater stability and allows more stringent washing conditions. Ribosome display can achieve slightly larger library sizes due to its simpler complex formation. Both can achieve high affinities when properly optimized.

Our cell-free systems routinely handle libraries with diversities of up to 10¹⁴ variants—far exceeding the limits of cell-based approaches (phage display: 10⁹-10¹⁰; yeast display: 10⁷-10⁸). Ribosome display achieves the largest libraries (up to 10¹⁵), while mRNA display typically reaches 10¹²-10¹³.

Absolutely. This is one of the greatest advantages of cell-free systems. Without cellular viability constraints, you can select against proteins that would kill cells upon expression. We've successfully screened libraries against toxic cytokines, aggregation-prone proteins, and membrane proteins.

Yes. Our PURE system-based displays allow precise control over the translation machinery, enabling incorporation of unnatural amino acids, click chemistry handles, photoactivatable residues, and D-amino acids. This expands the chemical diversity beyond the 20 canonical amino acids.

Beyond sequence identification, we offer:

• Binding kinetics (SPR/BLI) for affinity determination
• Specificity profiling against related targets
• Thermal stability analysis (DSF, DSC)
• Epitope mapping upon request

Yes. Cell-free systems are particularly advantageous for membrane proteins. Unlike cellular systems, cell-free synthesis can directly incorporate nascent membrane proteins into nanodiscs or proteoliposomes during translation, maintaining native structure and function.

You'll receive comprehensive project documentation including:

• Enriched DNA libraries (remainder of final round)
• NGS sequencing data with diversity analysis
• Bioinformatics reports (enrichment metrics, sequence families)
• Binding characterization for lead candidates
• Quality control documentation