Cyclotide Platform Engineering for Rapid Binder Identification

Cyclotides are small, cyclic plant derived proteins that are extremely tolerant to heat, pH, and proteolysis, qualities that make them ideal for orally delivered drug candidates. The aim of this project is to refine yeast surface display protocols to standardize binder identification workflow for de novo libraries while also generating an ideal starting library for cyclotide binder generation. The library will be used to generate cyclotide binders, with diversity in both structure and sequence, against multiple therapeutic targets.