BOSTON — Nuclera has introduced a new nanodisc panel designed to streamline the production of G-protein coupled receptors, aiming to help researchers generate active membrane proteins more quickly and efficiently.
The company said the panel enables scientists to express active GPCRs within 48 hours and supports both early-stage screening and scale-up using its eProtein Discovery platform.
Nuclera’s nanodisc panel includes a GPCR screening kit and scale-up reagents featuring eight nanodisc combinations, built from two membrane scaffold proteins and four lipid compositions. The approach is intended to help researchers identify optimal membrane environments while reducing variability commonly associated with traditional membrane protein production methods.
GPCRs represent a major class of drug targets, with roughly one-third of FDA-approved therapies acting on them. However, producing stable and functional GPCR proteins has remained a persistent challenge in drug discovery.
Traditional methods rely on detergent-based systems to isolate membrane proteins, which can lead to structural instability or non-native conformations. In contrast, nanodiscs provide a more natural membrane-like environment, helping preserve protein structure and function.
Nuclera said integrating its preassembled nanodiscs into the eProtein Discovery system allows for co-translational insertion of proteins during synthesis. This approach is designed to improve protein yield, stability, and functionality, while simplifying workflows from screening through characterization.
“Since releasing our membrane protein workflow in 2025, we have identified a huge potential in the market to support GPCR protein scientists,” said Audrey Dubourg, Ph.D., product manager at Nuclera. “Our eProtein Discovery nanodisc panel empowers researchers to explore physiologically relevant environments validated for solubility, insertion and stabilization of membrane proteins. Compared to traditional approaches, these are capable of increasing protein yield whilst maintaining functionality, creating a fast-track route to purified, active GPCRs.”
“The release of our GPCR nanodisc panel addresses the pressure scientists face to rapidly produce functional membrane proteins,” said Michael Chen, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Nuclera. “Integrated with eProtein Discovery, this capability equips researchers with a powerful approach to increase success rates in expressing active GPCRs.”
