Preparation and Application of In-House E. coli Cell-Free Protein Expression Kits

Abstract

Cell-free expression technology is cutting-edge research that would allow for increased flexibility, reliability, and versatility in the development of biosensors. This project is a joint between the Molecular Diagnostics and Cell-Ex labs in the FIRE program at the University of Maryland, in which we examine the usability of cell-free expression for workflows that differ from what they have been designed for, and conduct research into the feasibility of creating our own cell-free extract for further experimentation. In doing so, we determine the feasibility of using cell-free extract across different lab workflows, the possibility of creating it , and the cost-effectiveness of doing so versus commercial alternatives.