Isolation of scFvs that inhibit the NS3 protease of hepatitis C virus by a combination of phage display and a bacterial genetic screen

Regulation strategies for two-output biomolecular networks

Feedback control theory facilitates the development of self-regulating systems with desired performance which are predictable and insensitive to disturbances. Feedback regulatory topologies are found in many natural systems and have been of key importance in the design of reliable synthetic bio-devices operating in complex biological environments. Here, we study control schemes for biomolecular processes with two outputs of interest, expanding previously described concepts based on single-output systems. Regulation of such processes may unlock new design possibilities but can be challenging due to coupling interactions; also potential disturbances applied on one of the outputs may affect both. We therefore propose architectures for robustly manipulating the ratio/product and linear combinations of the outputs as well as each of the outputs independently. To demonstrate their characteristics, we apply these architectures to a simple process of two mutually activated biomolecular species. We also highlight the potential for experimental implementation by exploring synthetic realizations both in vivo and in vitro. This work presents an important step forward in building bio-devices capable of sophisticated functions.

Antibody Isolation from Human Synthetic Libraries of Single-Chain Antibodies and Analysis Using NGS

Antibody libraries came into existence 30 years ago when the accumulating sequence data of immunoglobulin genes and the advent of PCR technology made it possible to clone antibody gene repertoires. Phage display (most common) and additional display and screening technologies were applied to pan out desired binding specificities from antibody libraries. As other antibody discovery tools, phage display is not an off-the-shelf technology and not offered as a kit but rather requires experience and expertise for making it indeed very useful.Next-generation sequencing (NGS) coupled with bioinformatics is a powerful tool for analyzing large amount of DNA sequence output of the panning. Here, we demonstrate how NGS analysis of phage biopanning (phage-Seq) of complex antibody libraries can facilitate the antibody discovery process and provide insights regarding the biopanning process (see Fig. 1).

Antibody Isolation From a Human Synthetic Combinatorial and Other Libraries of Single-Chain Antibodies

Antibody libraries came into existence 25 years ago when the accumulating sequence data of immunoglobulin genes and the advent of the PCR technology made it possible to clone antibody gene repertoires. Phage display (most common) and additional display and screening technologies were applied to pan out desired binding specificities from antibody libraries. "Synthetic" or "semisynthetic" libraries are from naive-non-immunized source and considered to be a source for many different targets, including self-antigens.As other antibody discovery tools, phage display is not an off-the-shelf technology and not offered as a kit but rather requires experience and expertise for making it indeed very useful. Here we present application notes that expand the usefulness of antibody phage display as a very versatile and robust antibody discovery tool.