Medical Research Council

Phillipp Holliger

Farid Ghadessy

Farid Ghadassy

Jennifer Lee Ong

An emulsion is useful in allowing a wide variety of gene products to be expressed via eukaryotic in vitro expression. The emulsion comprises a silicone based surfactant, a hydrophobic phase and a hydrophilic phase; wherein the hydrophilic phase comprises a plurality of compartments containing a functional in vitro eukaryotic expression system.

Emulsion compositions

We describe a method of selecting an enzyme having replicase activity, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a pool of nucleic acids comprising members each encoding a replicase or a variant of the replicase; (b) subdividing the pool of nucleic acids into compartments, such that each compartment comprises a nucleic acid member of the pool together with the replicase or variant encoded by the nucleic acid member; (c) allowing nucleic acid replication to occur; and (d) detecting amplification of the nucleic acid member by the replicase. Methods for selecting agents capable of modulating replicase activity, and for selecting interacting polypeptides are also disclosed.

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Cambridge, United Kingdom

Phillipp Holliger