Synthetic biology depends on understanding how engineered molecules interact. SPR brings quantitative binding data to the design-build-test cycle.
Introduction
Synthetic biology is a multidisciplinary area which involves a whole range of disciplines such as molecular biology and engineering in order to create products that can solve many health, agricultural, and environmental challenges. For instance, in the agriculture sector, there is a growing need to solve issues such as food security, nutrition, and crop production. The solution may lie in engineering synthetic metabolic routes to produce crops that are tolerant to climate change, more nutritious, and less reliant on fertilizers.
Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is a real-time, label-free method to obtain quantitative information about the interactions between DNA-protein, protein-protein, and protein-small molecule. Such quantitative information includes the dissociation equilibrium constant (KD), the rate of association (kon), and rate of dissociation (koff) values. The determination and tuning of these parameters can lead to optimization of synthetic biological pathways to make engineered products with desired characteristics. Examples include studying transcriptional control, screening synthetic zippers, and designing biosensors for different applications.
SPR in Synthetic Biology Research
SPR can rapidly verify binding interactions across the full range of synthetic biology applications. Whether characterizing protein-DNA interactions in transcriptional regulation studies, validating engineered protein scaffolds, or confirming glucose-sensing interactions in metabolite biosensors, SPR provides the quantitative kinetic data needed to make informed design decisions in the design-build-test cycle.
Affinité's P4SPR™ in Synthetic Biology Applications
Affinité's P4SPR is a revolutionary SPR instrument that provides real-time kinetic and affinity measurements in a compact and portable design. It is very user-friendly; even individuals without extensive lab skills can learn how to use it in a short amount of time. There are two kinds of microfluidic cell (4- vs. 2-channel) to choose from, and it comes with its own software with fitting capability. Most importantly, complex biological samples such as human serum can be used.
Conclusions
SPR is a rapid, real-time, label-free method to obtain affinity and kinetic data for protein-DNA, protein-protein, and protein-small molecule interactions applicable to the synthetic biology field. Affinité's P4SPR is a portable, compact, and user-friendly device. The gold sensor chip is customizable for different types of immobilization strategies and can be used for complex biological samples.