Promega provides 10 96-well master plates containing plasmid-based cDNAs and 10 96-well Gold TnT SP6 Express 96 plates. Users simply transcribe and translate an aliquot from each master plate well using the TnT system. They then identify the presence of the protein activity using a detection assay, and subdivide the cDNAs in positive wells until they isolate the appropriate genes.
According to Michael Zwick, Promega's proteomics technology manager, the Proteolink system has two major benefits. The first is cost-effectiveness, Zwick says, and the second is flexibility. "Because it's in vitro, researchers can identify proteins that couldn't be identified using other systems, and they have the flexibility of altering conditions in ways that cell-based systems don't allow." Researchers could, for example, adjust components to identify optimal conditions for a protein's activity.
Zwick says that Promega used human adult brain for the cDNA library because the tissue expresses a diverse set of ...
