Researchers at the Technion and Johns Hopkins University have developed a new method of protein synthesis that could one day be used to promote biochemical, structural and functional studies, and in the creation of new drugs. The findings were recently published in Nature Communications. The research team led by Prof. Ashraf Brik of the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry included Muhammad Jbara, Shay Laps, Dr. Guy Kamnesky, and Guy Mann, along with Prof. Cynthia Wolberger of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Proteins are vital components of the living cell from which organelles are built into cells, muscles, and more, and the ability of the Technion-Johns Hopkins team to create them artificially could dramatically affect such endeavors.

The team was able to form complex protein clusters by precisely tuning chemical processes. This is an expansion of the chemical toolbox for the synthesis of proteins and the opening of a new channel for the development of chemistry based on organometallic complexes. The method was demonstrated by the synthesis of a copper storage protein (CSP1) and in the reaction of ubiquitinated proteins for the formation of a strong (covalent) complex of nucleosome-enzyme.

Prof. Brik completed his master’s and doctoral degrees at the Technion and later became Israel’s first Arabic chemistry professor. After a career at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, he joined the faculty of the Technion on the initiative of Nobel Laureate and Technion Distinguished Prof. Aaron Ciechanover. Prof. Brik has won numerous awards including the Humboldt Research Award (Germany), the Hirata Award (Japan), the Tetrahedron Young Investigator Award, the Eli Hurvitz Award (Israel), and the Israel Chemical Society’s Prize for the Outstanding Young Scientist. He was recently elected as a member of the Israel Young Academy.

This study was supported by the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF).

For more than a century, the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology has pioneered in science and technology education and delivered world-changing impact. Proudly a global university, the Technion has long leveraged boundary-crossing collaborations to advance breakthrough research and technologies. Now with a presence in three countries, the Technion will prepare the next generation of global innovators. Technion people, ideas and inventions make immeasurable contributions to the world, innovating in fields from cancer research and sustainable energy to quantum computing and computer science to do good around the world.

The American Technion Society supports visionary education and world-changing impact through the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Based in New York City, we represent thousands of US donors, alumni and stakeholders who invest in the Technion’s growth and innovation to advance critical research and technologies that serve the State of Israel and the global good. Over more than 75 years, our nationwide supporter network has funded new Technion scholarships, research, labs, and facilities that have helped deliver world-changing contributions and extend Technion education to campuses in three countries.