Cell-Free protein expression

[Bryan Jones]

Has anyone tried doing cell-free protein expression in a DIY bio setting? I came across this interesting review, essentially suggesting that cell-free expression for proteins is (or will be) great for small-scale DIY bio type projects. Is the technology there yet to make cell free expression feasible in a DIY setting?

From the article:

"The ease of implementing protein synthesis and purification at reduced scales, coupled with the constantly decreasing costs of gene synthesis, will expand the reach of cell-free technologies and facilitate its use by small businesses, schools, and enterprising individuals, similar to the now-widespread adoption of additive manufacturing in the Maker community. Comparable to 3D printing, cell-free techniques can accommodate niche and diverse markets due to low start-up costs and decreasing barriers to entry compared to traditional large-scale bioprocesses. As with most democratized technology, there are issues that will need to be addressed regarding regulations, intellectual property, and biosafety; but, many of these issues are already under consideration by the scientific and regulatory communities with regard to synthetic biology."

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14789450.2016.1209415

Mohr, Benjamin P., Scott T. Retterer, and Mitchel J. Doktycz. "While-you-wait proteins? Producing biomolecules at the point of need." (2016).

[Koeng]

I think that it could be viable but only for people who have experience in in-vitro methods. Getting your plate contaminated is a lot easier to see for a beginner than getting your T7 transcription reaction contaminated with RNAse. Putting everything in a cell seems a lot more forgiving. For protein expression, there seems like the material cost for the 2 would be approximately the same (comparing prices of BL21 comp cells + expression kits and in vitro expression kits) with in vivo being more robust, albeit taking a longer amount of time. 

Currently I think the technology isn't developed enough for small-scale DIY settings, but it probably will be sooner or later. Quite a few years off still

-Koeng