Abstract
This thesis investigates the application of P.U.R.E. system technology for translation of an unnatural peptide library for use in determining an optimal 2G12-binding carbohydrate cluster. The successful and detailed preparation of all translation components are described herein. This includes: growth, expression and purification of translation factors, amino-acyl tRNA synthetases, and ribosomes from E. coli; PCR amplification and purification of library DNA, followed by transcription and gel purification to obtain mRNA templates for peptide synthesis. Translation reactions were executed and pure peptide obtained. Yield was determined by incorporation of radioactive cysteine and results verified by MALDI-TOF.