VLP Platform — Displayed Transmembrane Proteins

The Challenge

Obtaining functional transmembrane protein material is a bottleneck that delays antibody discovery and target characterization programs. Conventional recombinant expression of multi-pass proteins — GPCRs, claudins, ion channels, transporters — routinely fails to preserve the native conformation that defines the biologically relevant epitopes. Truncated extracellular domains miss the structural context of the full-length receptor. Detergent-solubilized preparations are unstable, heterogeneous, and poorly suited for immunization. Cell-based display works, but is difficult to scale and standardize as a reagent. The result: teams spend months trying to generate usable antigen, often with inconsistent results.

Our Solution — The VLP Platform

We produce enveloped virus-like particles that display your target transmembrane protein in a native phospholipid bilayer. The platform is built on HEK293 mammalian cell expression: producer cells are co-transfected with your target protein and HIV-1-derived gag polyprotein, which self-assembles at the plasma membrane and drives particle budding. The VLPs that emerge carry your protein of interest on their outer surface — full-length, correctly oriented, with native glycosylation and post-translational modifications intact. The particles are non-infectious and contain no viral genetic material. What you receive is a stable, soluble, characterizable reagent that presents your membrane protein the way it exists in a cell — not as an approximation of it.

📋 A streamlined workflow from gene to purified VLP.

▲ Figure 1: From gene synthesis to VLP purification — a complete production workflow.

Standard turnaround for the full workflow is 4–7 weeks, with optional accelerated timelines available upon request.

Services Offered

▲ Figure 2: Membrane protein co-assembly with viral core components leads to VLP budding, preserving native transmembrane topology.

This architecture enables a range of applications where native membrane protein conformation is critical.

Applications

Antibody Discovery & Immunization

VLPs are an established immunogen format for raising antibodies against conformationally sensitive membrane targets. The particulate scaffold enhances immunogenicity, and the native lipid bilayer preserves the epitopes that matter most for therapeutic antibody programs.

Antibody Screening & Hit Confirmation

VLP preparations can be used directly in ELISA, flow cytometry-based binding assays, and hybridoma or phage display screening workflows to identify antibodies that recognize the native membrane-embedded conformation of your target.

Binding Assays & Target Characterization

VLP-displayed proteins support antigen-antibody interaction studies in plate-based and other binding assay formats, enabling characterization of candidates against targets that cannot be studied as purified soluble proteins.

Vaccine Antigen Development

For researchers developing immunization strategies against viral or tumor-associated membrane antigens, VLPs provide a non-infectious, scalable antigen presentation platform with intrinsic particulate adjuvant properties.

Deliverables