High-Throughput Screening of Evolutionary Biological Materials
Abstract
We propose to build a dedicated research instrument that can sort bacteria in milliseconds using a flow cytometer integrated to a transient thermal-reflectivity (TTR) set up. The goal of this project is to establish the genetic basis of fiber forming protein structures via a pioneering high-throughput screening system based on transient thermal-reflectivity (TTR) spectroscopy. This novel method offers the first high-throughput screening tool that reports on the structural features of protein aggregation. Recently, we discovered a new technique to screen protein sequences based ultrafast laser-probing spectroscopy, which has never been applied before in this research domain. We performed the TTR experiments using purified proteins as well as overexpressed recombinant protein in E.coli, which clearly showed Òproof of conceptÓ quantification of protein crystallinity in real time for the first time. Our novel TTR technique enables screening of 108-109 different structural polypeptide sequences for protein aggregates formation in hours, a feat that would be impossible to achieve with existing screening tools such as fluorescence, immunostaining, or functional assays. This equipment will be used for a variety of ongoing and proposed DoD projects at Penn State University to serve as a valuable resource for the development of novel functional materials and structures.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 07, 2018
- Source ID
- W911NF1710155
Entities
People
- Melik Demirel
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Pennsylvania State University
- United States Army