Phage Display as a Tool for Synthetic Biology

Phage display can be considered as a practical realisation of an artificial chemical evolution. As such, it is an useful tool for in vitro protein evolution, aimed to identifying new receptors and natural ligands for orphan receptors , drug discovery (peptides might act as enzyme inhibitors and receptor agonists or antagonists, or otherwise modulate the enzyme/receptor’s biological effect), epitope discovery (a new approach to disease diagnosis and vaccine development), design of DNA-binding proteins, source of new materials, antibody phage and recombinant phage probes, next-generation nano-electronics, targeted therapy, molecular imaging, gene delivery and phage-display vaccination. All this can be regarded as a kind of synthetic biology in that it involves the reshaping and redirecting of natural molecular systems, phage, typically using the tools of protein and genetic engineering.