Abstract
Protein production is fundamental to understanding the function of biological systems and is the technological cornerstone for the manufacture of biological therapeutics. A growing amount of genetic information has highlighted the need to rapidly screen protein activity1 while protein-based “biologics” are emerging as an important class of pharmaceuticals2. Cell-free protein synthesis is a practical approach for engineering and rapidly producing functional proteins3. However, it is typically carried out in fairly large volumes, when compared to a natural cell. Here we show continuous cell free protein synthesis in arrays of nanoporous, picoliter volume containers. A multiscale fabrication process allows for the monolithic integration of the containers and an addressable microfluidic network. Synthesis of enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) in the nanoporous containers continues beyond 24 hours and yields more than twice the amount of protein, on a per volume basis, than conventional scale batch reactions.
