title: Cell-free protein synthesis in a microchamber revealed the presence of an optimum compartment volume for high-order reactions.
abstract: The application of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) to chemistry and biochemistry allows various reactions to be performed in microscale compartments. Here, we aimed to use the glass microchamber to study the compartment size dependency of the protein synthesis, one of the most important reactions in the cell. By encapsulating the cell-free protein synthesis system with different reaction orders in femtoliter microchambers, chamber size dependency of the reaction initiated with a constant copy number of DNA was investigated. We were able to observe the properties specific to the high order reactions in microcompartments with high precision and found the presence of an optimum compartment volume for a high-order reaction using real biological molecules.
authors.affiliation: Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency , 1-5 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
authors.forename: Taiji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okano
authors.forename: Tomoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuura
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yomo
mesh_terms: D002474:Cell-Free System / Q000737:chemistry; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D056915:DNA Copy Number Variations / Q000235:genetics; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D005966:Glucuronidase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D055617:Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D010957:Plasmids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D014177:Translations; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D001616:beta-Galactosidase; D005966:Glucuronidase