Glucose Binding Protein

About

The recombinant glucose binding protein Concanavalin A is known to have potential as a bio-receptor molecule for the determination of glucose concentrations in blood and tissue fluids so making it very useful in the control of diabetes. Other potential areas where the protein is known to have utility are in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers such a liver cancer. Concanavalin A is available in the natural form or can be derived from bacteria but the purity of the protein can be compromised by the presence of contaminants such as glycogen. This technology solves the problem of making high purity recombinant Concanavalin A by reducing contamination. This is done by expressing recombinant Concanavalin A in bacterial cells, and producing a lysate of the protein in both a soluble and insoluble fraction, with the insoluble fraction containing the Concanavalin A. The insoluble fraction can then be denatured and refolded to produce a mature active and high purity Concanavalin A.  A patent has been granted for the technology in the US.