Sunnyvale, CA – American Peptide Company recently began a collaboration with Sandia Biotech to synthesize peptides to be used in their Split Green Fluorescent Protein (sGFP) detection system.

The split GFP technology consists of a 16 amino acid fusion tag and a complementary protein to detect the fusion peptide without any enzymes or special buffers. A tagged peptide is incubated with the larger GFP fragment at room temperature in any isotonic buffer to produce a fluorescent reporter.

The complementation of the GFP fragments is irreversible unlike that of monoclonal antibodies which have varying affinities for their antigens. Once researchers have created their fusion peptides they no longer need to generate custom antibodies to detect them. The GFP complementary fragment will consistently and irreversibly bind a fusion peptide for detection, quantification and qualification on a high-throughput platform.

Since the fragments only fluoresce when bound to each other, they will not fluoresce if non-specifically bound, thus eliminating false positives. This very specific generation of fluorescence increases specificity with no loss of sensitivity. In essence there is no background to this assay platform.

The split GFP technology can be used to measure peptide and protein expression levels. It is ideal for elucidating mechanisms of action and can potentially eliminate the need for custom antibodies. In addition to green fluorescent protein, this system is also available in yellow and cyan fluorescence varieties.

“We look forward to a successful collaboration with Sandia,” John McKinley said. “American Peptide Company provides the leading edge of peptide technology.”

About Sandia BioTech, Inc.

Sandia Biotech specializes in manufacturing protein and peptide analysis tools for the medical, drug development and industrial biotech communities. Their focus is to expand, manufacture and market a Split Green Fluorescent Protein (sGFP) technology licensed from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in order to gain universal acceptance as the standard detecting and tracking tool of choice for protein and peptide industry world-wide.

About American Peptide Company, Inc.

American Peptide Company (APC) is a leading manufacturer of peptides and peptide conjugates. The company offers comprehensive selections of pre-manufactured catalog peptides, custom synthesis, and GMP peptide active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Our California based manufacturing facilities offer synthesis services under Non GMP (Sunnyvale, California) and cGMP (Vista, California) conditions. Our cGMP manufacturing is performed under strict adherence to FDA Regulations 21 CFR parts 210, 211 and ICH Guidance Q7A. Our Total Peptide Management services support clients in the drug development process from pre-clinical thru commercial stage. Our value added services include process development, scale up production, analytical/process validation, stability studies, CMC, DMF, and regulatory support.

APC is proficient in solid-phase and solution-phase peptide synthesis, as well as organic conjugations, proteins and PEGylation. APC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ILS, Inc., a member of the Otsuka Group of Japan. APC has offices in the U.S. and representatives in Japan, South Korea, the UK, and China. APC has recently enhanced our large scale cGMP manufacturing capabilities with additional synthesis and purification suites, a 12” RP-HPLC column and a 200 liter tray lyophilizer. For more information, please visit http://www.americanpeptide.com.