Discovery

We have recently developed new technologies that harness the power of phage display and multiplex peptide production that can be used to rapidly and inexpensively discover peptide analogs with enhanced biological activity.

In the phage display component [Dorgham et al. (2016) Methods in Enzymology 570:47-72], vast libraries (>10⁶) of peptide analogs are produced by introducing genetic diversity into user-defined regions of the parent peptide. These libraries are screened to isolate variants with enhanced binding properties to target structures or enhanced pharmacological properties on cultured cells.

In the multiplex production component [Paolini-Bertrand et al. (2018) J Biol Chem. 2018 doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA118.004370], hundreds of candidate hits from the phage display component can be generated rapidly and at low cost for validation of biological activity on plate-based assays.

Cycles of library design, selection and evaluation can lead to spectacular gains in potency [e.g. Gaertner et al. (2008) PNAS 105:17706-11].

For further information, please contact Oliver Hartley or Kalyani Akondi.