Advantages of Cell-free Protein Expression - Biocompare

Cell-free protein expression (CFPE) can provide several advantages over traditional protein synthesis methods. In an article by Biocompare author Emma Mason, senior protein expression and modification scientist James C. Samuelson, Ph.D., was interviewed about the advantages CFPE has.

Addressing common problems in protein expression

Samuelson explains that typical CFPE templates encode a T7 promotor and T7 terminator sequence, which is supplemented with purified T7 RNA polymerase for one-pot transcription. Additionally, CFPE commonly uses an E. coli cell lysate or an E. coli-based reconstituted system.

These differences support reduced requirements for lab space and equipment compared to traditional protein expression, which uses living cells.

CFPE support from New England Biolabs

In this article, Samuelson highlights two cell-free protein expression systems offered by NEB:

• NEBExpress Cell-free E. coli Protein Synthesis System, an extract-based system.
• PURExpress® In Vitro Protein Synthesis Kit, a reconstituted protein synthesis system.

Both options enable quick protein synthesis — in a few hours — and often allow for the direct analysis of target protein function.

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