US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory 1 article published in JoVE Bioengineering Rapid Characterization of Genetic Parts with Cell-Free Systems John B. McManus1,2, Casey B. Bernhards3,4, Caitlin E. Sharpes3,4, David C. Garcia2,4, Stephanie D. Cole4, Richard M. Murray2, Peter A. Emanuel4, Matthew W. Lux4 1US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory, 2Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 3Excet, Inc., 4US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Chemical Biological Center Well-characterized genetic parts are necessary for the design of novel genetic circuits. Here we describe a cost-effective, high-throughput method for rapidly characterizing genetic parts. Our method reduces cost and time by combining cell-free lysates, linear DNA to avoid cloning, and acoustic liquid handling to increase throughput and reduce reaction volumes.
