High-Throughput Generation of In Silico Derived Synthetic Antibodies via One-step Enzymatic DNA Assembly of Fragments

Phage-display technology offers robust methods for isolating antibody (Ab) molecules with specificity for different target antigens. Recent advancements couple Ab selections with in silico strategies, such as predictive computational models or next-generation sequencing metadata analysis of Ab selections. These advancements result in enhanced Ab clonal diversities with potential for enlarged epitope coverage of the target antigen. A current limitation however, is that de novo Ab sequences must undergo DNA gene synthesis, and subsequent expression as Ab proteins for downstream validations. Due to the high costs and time for commercially generating large sets of DNA genes, we report a high-throughput platform for the synthesis of in silico derived Ab clones. As a proof of concept we demonstrate the simultaneous synthesis of 96 unique Abs with varied lengths and complementary determining region compositions. Each of the 96 Ab clones undergoes a one-step enzymatic assembly of distinct DNA fragments that combine into a circularized Fab expression plasmid. This strategy allows for the rapid and efficient synthesis of 96 DNA constructs in a 3 day window, and exhibits high percentage fidelity—greater than 93%. Accordingly, the synthesis of Ab DNA constructs as Fab expression plasmids allow for rapid execution of downstream Ab protein validations, with potential for implementation into high-throughput Ab protein characterization pipelines. Altogether, the platform presented here proves rapid and also cost-effective, which is important for labs with limited resources, since it utilizes standard laboratory equipment and molecular reagents.