Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Summary
NIST’s cell-free workshop series seeks to identify and prioritize actionable steps towards more reproducible and comparable cell-free systems for practical applications in bioengineering and biomanufacturing.
Description
NIST has co-hosted two cell-free workshops.
NIST CELL-FREE (Comparable Engineered Living Lysates For Research Education and Entrepreneurship) Workshop (2019)
The NIST CELL-FREE workshop took place in La Jolla, CA in February 2019, in collaboration with the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI). The workshop sought to identify actionable steps to address the lack of reproducibility within and across laboratories engaged in research using cell-free systems. Highlighted topics included modeling, lysate preparation, DNA template preparation, measurement needs, and sharing and reporting data. The information gathered at this workshop was published in a workshop report and included specific recommendations to improving reproducibility of cell-free systems for protein expression.
Advancing Cell-free Manufacturing: Challenges in Scale-up and Automation (2024)
The workshop on Advancing Cell-Free Manufacturing: Challenges in Scale-up and Automation took place in Rockville, MD in February 2024, in collaboration with NIH NCATS. The workshop identified challenges to achieving reproducible cell-free expression at commercial scales, both for established industry stakeholders and start-ups. Highlighted topics included quality control for cell-free extracts, reagent characterization, the role of automation for optimization and scale-up, and analytical measurements and standards needs. The information gathered at this workshop will be published in a workshop report and will inform the establishment of metrics to enable the rapid growth and success of cell-free expression systems in the bioeconomy.
Major Accomplishments
- NIST CELL-FREE Workshop Report (2019)
- Advancing Cell-free Manufacturing: Challenges in Scale-up and Automation Workshop Report (2024) [in preparation]