Phage display - a new way of selecting proteins with predefined specificities

The display of diverse repertoires of proteins on the surface of filamentousbacteriophage offeres a new way of selecting proteins with predefinedspecificities. The affinity selection process can be carried out due to unique feature of the phage expression system, the direct physical linkage between genotype and phenotype of displayed proteins. Phage dysplayed libraries of proteinshave been sucessfully used in a number of applications, including selection ofmonoclonal antibodies, receptor ligands and enzyme inhibitors, cDNA expression, epitope mapping, studies on protein-protein and protein-nucleic acids interactions. The phage dislay system is also a very decent tool to perform in vitroevolution of protein properties. This approach is based on construction andscreening of reprtoires of mutagenized proteins or protein domains and affinityselection of molecules with most desirable features.