What is the RocKit?
The Receptor Open Community Kit (RocKit) is a universal laboratory tool to generate cellular receptors for any given target molecule. The RocKit comes as a kit containing all the cells, DNA, vector backbones and reagents required to build a genetic circuit capable of generating these receptors, as well as standardised protocols optimised to make the RocKit experience as smooth as possible.
How does it work?
The RocKit is based on a system of induced artificial mutation occurring to the DNA sequence encoding the binding site of a base receptor. These mutations are random but occur within a targeted region to ensure only the binding site sequence becomes mutated. The cells are exposed to a high concentration of the target molecule of interest. When a random mutation to the receptor results in the correct configuration, it will be able to bind specifically to the target molecule. When this happens, 2 important mechanisms occur: firstly, a cascade is triggered which disables the mutation mechanism occurring to the receptor sequence, essentially ‘turning off’ the system. Secondly, a detectable fluorescent signal is activated to indicate that the binding has been successful. Once the signal is detected, the receptor sequence can be extracted and replicated for use in any experimentation where a detection component is required. Once extracted, all receptor sequences can be uploaded easily to the RocCloud.
The RocCloud
The Receptor Open Community Cloud (RocCloud), is a freely accessible, information-sharing database containing the sequences for all receptors generated with the RocKit. Team MSP-Maastricht believe in the facilitation of an open scientific community, and the RocCloud is designed to do just this. Researchers from across all fields can upload their receptor sequences, and in return have access to a wealth of sequences to assist their future research. The RocCloud is an optional addition to the RocKit that allows participating researches to partake in a global collaboration among like-minded scientists.
What inspired us?
The inspiration for the RocKit is founded in creativity. Detection and quantification of molecules are fundamental processes in the biological and chemical disciplines. While many techniques for this exist in both of these fields, we saw a unique opportunity to tackle this challenge from a different angle, using evolution as our inspiration. Cellular receptors are amazing, their diversity and specificity completely unrivalled in the biological world. We thought about ways to simulate evolution in an accelerated, controlled fashion, and wondered about the possibility of using mutation to create new receptors without limit. If we could make this concept a reality, we knew it could revolutionise the way in which we detect both new and known compounds: the possibilities are endless, and we thought that was worth pursuing.
Applications of the RocKit
The RocKit has infinite applications, such as in…
Environmental studies in the detection and quantification of pollutants in a variety of ecosystems.
Biomedical sciences for the recognition of biomarkers in pathology, pathogens or antibodies in disease and diagnosis.
Pharmaceuticals for screening new drugs for potentially otherwise unpredictable side effects or toxicity.
Industry for quantifying the yields of novel compounds or waste products in real-time.
Cell biology as an alternative to techniques such as SDS-page and Western blot to detect and quantify proteins, signalling molecules or excreted compounds.
