Protein translation is a central cellular function attracting increasing attention from cell biologists as they integrate gene product specific information into a systems view of cellular function. Scientists at NIAID developed the puromycin-specific antibodies that allow for the specific detection of puromycin-containing nascent polypeptides via standard immunofluorescence or flow cytometry. The resulting ribopuromycylation method (RPM) localizes translation in cells and can be applied to any PMY-sensitive eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell to study the dynamics of protein synthesis at the cellular level and investigate translational processes. It can also be used in vitro or in vivo to measure the number of translating ribosomes using flow cytometry.

This technology is available for licensing for commercial development in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR part 404, as well as for further development and evaluation under a research collaboration.