A short course to develop the skills to make your own reagents, to lower costs, and accelerate research.

The Open Enzyme Manufacturing Masterclass is a hands-on course teaching researchers how to produce essential enzymes for molecular biology including DNA polymerases for PCR.  

In 1-2 weeks, participants will learn and perform all the steps involved in protein production in the bacterial chassis Escherichia coli using low-cost materials and standard lab equipment. The course covers assembling DNA plasmids, culturing bacteria, purifying proteins and testing purity and function. Finally, participants will prepare a dry formulation allowing the storage of enzymes at ambient temperatures for up to several weeks.  

All of the enzymes used are from the open source and off-patent OpenEnzyme collection. Participants will take away shared, open-source protocols and instructions on how to order DNA parts via our partners so that research can be accelerated with cheaper enzymes produced on-demand.

Information on the first course delivered in Ghana is available here.