Cell-Free Synthesis of Membrane Proteins

Among the various membrane protein synthesis methods available today, the cell-free protein synthesis method is a relatively new tool. Recent technological advances in the lipid and detergent conditions for the cell-free synthesis of membrane proteins have enabled the robust production of various membrane proteins for structural biology. In this chapter, we describe representative conditions for the production of high quantities of membrane proteins by the cell-free method, with crystallization quality. We also discuss examples of membrane proteins that were successfully synthesized by the cell-free method. The crystals of these highly purified proteins resulted in solved crystal structures.