AI-Designed Proteins Gain Speed With Cell-Free Validation

Sino Biological, has announced that its gene synthesis and cell-free protein expression workflow was used in a recent study by Tencent AI for Life Sciences Lab published in Nature Communications, enabling rapid validation of AI-designed proteins with improved activity, stability, and multifunctionality.

Bridging AI Protein Design and Experimental Validation

Artificial intelligence has accelerated protein amino acid sequence design, however, translating these computational designs into functional proteins remains a key challenge in protein engineering. Protein activity, stability, folding, and expression are influenced by complex structural and biochemical factors, often causing discrepancies between in silico predictions and experiments.

To address this gap, the study introduced an Ontology Reinforcement Iteration (ORI) framework, integrating protein ontology with reinforcement learning from wet-lab feedback. Experimental data, including protein expression levels and functional activity, were continuously fed back into the model enabling iterative optimization of protein sequences and improved design accuracy.

Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Accelerates the AI Design Loop

The researchers subsequently utilized Sino Biological’s XPressMAX™ Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Kit to enable rapid protein expression and functional screening. Protein-coding sequences cloned into the kit’s expression vector and added to the proprietary cell-free reaction system supported rapid design–build–test cycles.

Using this workflow, the team engineered a lysozyme with over 100-fold higher activity than the natural enzyme, developed a thermostable chitinase retaining activity at 85°C, and expressed bifunctional enzymes with improved performance compared with naturally occurring multifunctional enzymes.

XPressMAX™Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Kit

Key features include:

• Ultra-fast synthesis: proteins expressed in as little as 3 hours
• High screening efficiency: optimized for VHH, scFv, and miniproteins
• Flexible template support: compatible with plasmid and linear DNA templates
• Disulfide bond friendly: enables expression of complex disulfide-bonded proteins without additional enhancers

• Cost-effective performance: reduced operational time and cost
• Scalable supply: suitable for high-throughput and industrial applications

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