Bundy, Bradley C; Mills, Heather; Nelson, Andrew (Brigham Young University)
Faculty Advisor: Bundy, Bradley (Brigham Young University, Chemical Engineering)
Many advantages are associated with cell-free protein synthesis. It is the fastest way to obtain a protein from a gene, and large amounts can be produced.
A common challenge in cell-free protein synthesis is inconsistency in reaction results, when protein yields appear to vary significantly between trials of the same reaction. Correcting this problem by focusing on and adjusting laboratory technique was the platform of this specific research project. Such adjustments aimed to increase the precision with which reagents were measured and the accuracy of the spectrophotometer results; and to decrease potential error created by air bubbles and non-uniformly mixed reagents.
Overall, amounts of protein yield became more consistent as procedural steps were performed with greater focus on laboratory technique. These results indicate that adjusting laboratory technique could potentially help to increase consistency in yield amounts and reduce error in cell-free protein synthesis reactions. Further direction for the research includes using the improved and more accurate CFPS reactions to produce protein therapeutics, which is used in the treatment of various diseases.