Advanced Study in Cell-Free Protein Synthesis

An advanced study in cell-free protein synthesis has been described in this up-to-date book. The Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1968 was given for interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis and in Chemistry, 2009 for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome. These have highlighted the ground-breaking experiment of the first elucidation of a codon performed by Marshall Nirenberg and Heinrich J. Matthaei on May 15, 1961 and their principal breakthrough in the creation of cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) system. Since then successive technical developments have led to the emergence of CFPS system as a crucial and effective technology platform for industrial and high-throughput protein production. CFPS provides a high grams protein per liter reaction volume and holds various benefits such as the capability to easily manipulate the reaction components and conditions favoring protein synthesis, reduced sensitivity to product toxicity, batch reactions lasting for extended periods of several hours, highly reduced costs, and adequacy for miniaturization and high-throughput applications. These advantages have led to a continuum of growing interest towards understanding CFPS system among biotechnologists, molecular biologists, pharmacologists and medical practitioners.