RiboScan™ Platform

RiboScan™ identifies novel therapeutic binders with unprecedented speed through automated ribosome display technology.

Platform Overview

RiboScan™ Platform: From Target to Lead

The quest for high-affinity, functional binders is often constrained by the limitations of cellular systems, including restricted library diversity, lengthy development cycles, and labor-intensive workflows. Protheragen's RiboScan™ platform is engineered to overcome these challenges. By leveraging a fully automated, cell-free ribosome display system, we enable the rapid and comprehensive discovery of diverse therapeutic binders, ranging from nanobodies to scFvs. Integrated with real-time analytics, RiboScan™ transforms target proteins into actionable leads with unprecedented speed and depth.

Disruptive Technology
Excellent Team
Diversified Pipeline
Customized Solutions

Platform Core

Automated Ribosome Display Technology

The RiboScan™ platform is powered by a sophisticated, automated ribosome display engine that directly couples phenotype to genotype without cellular transformation. To illustrate our platform's workflow, we will use the screening of VHH antibodies as a concrete example.

Synthetic Library Input: The process begins with a high-diversity, synthetic linear DNA library, where each sequence encodes a unique VHH/nanobody scaffold with fully randomized complementarity-determining regions (CDRs).
Cell-Free Genotype-to-Phenotype Coupling: Through automated in vitro transcription and translation (IVTT), ribosome display is performed. Engineered stop codon-free mRNA leads to ribosome stalling, physically tethering each folded protein to its encoding mRNA.
Automated Selection & Enrichment: Displayed ribosome complexes undergo fully automated positive and negative selection against immobilized targets via magnetic beads. This cycle enriches the pool for DNA sequences encoding target-specific, high-affinity binders.
High-Throughput Sequencing: The enriched DNA pool from selected rounds is subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS), yielding full-length VHH sequences for comprehensive analysis.
Intelligent Clustering & Family Identification: Advanced bioinformatics algorithms cluster the sequenced binders based on CDR homology. Each distinct cluster represents a unique epitope-binding family, mapping the target's actionable binding landscape.
Lead Candidate Output: A representative, optimized sequence from each major cluster is output as a lead candidate, ready for synthesis, recombinant expression, and downstream functional characterization.

Fig.1 Rapidly isolate VHH antibodies from a large synthetic library using the RiboScan™ platform. a. Input: linear DNA library; b. Ribosome display pool; c. Selection cycle. Repeat steps b-c to enrich sequence encoding for binders to the target.

Platform Advantages

Unique Advantages of the RiboScan™ Platform

Deep-Dive Discovery with Massive Diversity

By eliminating the cell, we access synthetic libraries orders of magnitude larger than cellular methods. This grants RiboScan™ the unique power to explore a broader universe of sequences, dramatically increasing the odds of finding rare, high-potency binders against even the most challenging targets.

Walkaway Automation for Unmatched Speed

Our fully integrated robotic system and secure LIMS automate the entire workflow—from display to selection and QC. This enables true walkaway operation, parallel processing of multiple targets, and on-the-fly decision-making, compressing discovery timelines from months to weeks.

Epitope-Broad View through Computational Clustering

We don't just find individual hits. By combining powerful selection with NGS and bioinformatics, RiboScan™ provides a comprehensive epitope map for your target. We identify clusters of related binders, revealing distinct epitope families and delivering a richer set of candidates for downstream optimization.

High Affinity Binders Identified without Affinity Maturation

Our platform is engineered to discover high-affinity binders directly from the primary library. We have successfully selected against diverse target classes, such as extracellular domains, cytokines, enzymes, and peptides, and routinely obtain binders with low nanomolar affinity without requiring additional affinity maturation steps.

Platform Application

Enabling Next-Generation Biologics Discovery

Antibodies & Multivalent Biologics Accelerate the development of next-generation biologics, including single-domain antibodies (VHH/nanobodies), scFvs, and the building blocks for bispecifics, multispecifics, and targeted conjugates.
CAR-T & Cell Therapy Rapidly discover and optimize high-affinity, highly specific binding domains for novel chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), enabling the development of more precise and potent cell therapies.
Diagnostic & Imaging Reagent Generate unique, high-fidelity binders for use in advanced diagnostic assays, biomarker detection tools, and as targeting agents for in vivo molecular imaging.

Pipeline

Research & Development Pipeline

Projects	Therapy Types	Target	Indication
RBD003	VHH Antibody	IL-17A	Psoriasis
RBD007	Bispecific Nanobody	CD3 x HER2	Breast Cancer
RBD013	CAR Binding Domain	BCMA	Multiple Myeloma
RBD021	ADC Binder	CLDN18.2	Gastric Cancer

Get in Touch with Us

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What is the main advantage of using a cell-free system like ribosome display? A: The key advantage is access to vastly greater library diversity (＞10¹⁰), as we bypass the bottleneck of bacterial transformation. It also allows for direct recovery of genetic material and selections under a wider range of conditions.
Q2: Can RiboScan™ handle difficult targets, like membrane proteins or aggregated proteins? A: Yes. The flexibility of the in vitro system allows us to tailor selection conditions (detergents, chaperones, specific buffers) to stabilize difficult targets and discover binders that might be missed in cellular systems.
Q3: How does the platform ensure the binders are specific and have low off-target effects? A: Our automated workflow incorporates stringent negative selection steps against related proteins or counter-targets to drive the enrichment of highly specific binders. Specificity is further validated in downstream assays.
Q4: Is the platform suitable for epitope binning or finding binders to non-overlapping epitopes? A: Absolutely. The power of RiboScan™ lies in its ability to generate a diverse panel of binders. Combined with our computational clustering analysis, we can strategically select candidates from different sequence families, which often correlate with binding to distinct, non-competing epitopes.
Q5: How integrated is the automation? Does it require manual intervention between steps? A: It is a truly walkaway, end-to-end automated system. From IVTT reactions and bead-based selections to purification and QC steps, the process is handled by integrated robotics managed by our LIMS, ensuring consistency, reproducibility, and hands-off operation for our team.