Rapid membrane protein synthesis accelerates drug discovery

Nuclera has enhanced its eProtein Discovery™ system with a dedicated membrane protein production workflow, enabling researchers to express and purify functional membrane proteins in just 48 hours. This advancement opens the door to faster discovery of drug targets and improved structural biology pipelines by tackling one of the most complex areas of protein science.

Membrane proteins are critical to cellular function and represent targets for over 60% of FDA-approved drugs. Yet their production remains notoriously difficult due to their hydrophobic nature and structural complexity. Nuclera’s expanded eProtein Discovery capabilities address this bottleneck by integrating cell-free expression, digital microfluidics, and tailored additive screening to produce soluble, correctly folded membrane proteins ready for downstream applications such as cryo-EM.

To demonstrate this capability, Nuclera synthesised two well-characterised membrane proteins: the transporter MsbA and the integral membrane protein ZMPSTE24. Within 24 hours, the platform screened multiple conditions using nanodiscs, detergents, and lipid additives to identify optimal solubility and stability conditions. Both proteins were then scaled up to functional quantities within 48 hours, with high yield and quality suitable for structural and functional analyses.

Dr Toby Ost, SVP of Product Development at Nuclera, commented: “Membrane proteins have traditionally been difficult to work with, often yielding misfolded or inactive products. With this update, eProtein Discovery empowers researchers to overcome those barriers and accelerate their experimental timelines.”
Dr Konstantinos Beis, Reader in Membrane Protein Structural Biology at Imperial College London, added: “We evaluated membrane proteins produced with the eProtein Discovery system through Imperial Consultants. The results look promising - this could be a valuable tool for the community.”

The membrane protein workflow is available immediately to all current eProtein Discovery users via a software update.

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