Phage display is a fantastic discovery tool. It can help your team search billions of possible antibodies or peptides and narrow in on those that bind to your target. But after all the work you put into doing the panning and selection, the most crucial question remains: how do you reliably find the absolute best candidates hidden in your final sample? Researchers traditionally selected a few dozen clones to sequence individually with Sanger sequencing over many years. But this approach is like finding a needle in a haystack by only grabbing a few handfuls of hay. You might get lucky, but you will almost certainly miss the most valuable discoveries. Many high-affinity binders are often less abundant in the final pool and are completely lost. Phage Display NGS lets you get a complete, high-resolution picture of your results. Our modern approach takes phage display sequencing from a game of chance into an exact, data-driven science. Here at Creative Biolabs, we provide a suite of custom services based on phage display, including phage display next-generation sequencing. Our service is built to take the guesswork out of identifying the best candidates, save you valuable time, and ensure you find the most promising candidates to move forward in your research. Phage Display NGS service can be used for a broad range of research and development applications, including:
Phage display is a versatile technique where a library of peptides or antibodies is displayed on the surface of bacteriophages. These phages can then be screened for their ability to bind to a specific target, enabling the identification of strong binding candidates. Phage display sequencing allows researchers to sequence these binding phages and decode the genetic information, providing valuable data about the sequence and affinity of the displayed peptides or antibodies. Next-generation sequencing enhances the phage display process by simultaneously allowing for high-throughput, parallel sequencing of multiple clones. This integration of phage display with NGS technology improves the depth and accuracy of sequencing, enabling comprehensive analysis of phage libraries, identifying rare clones with high specificity, and ultimately providing a deeper understanding of the binding interactions.
The classic method for identifying the winning binders has been Sanger sequencing. While it was an excellent technology for its time, it has significant limitations for modern phage display projects:
These limitations mean you might make critical decisions based on incomplete or misleading data, wasting valuable time and resources.
Phage display NGS solves all of these problems by sequencing millions of clones from your enriched pool at the same time. This deep and comprehensive approach transforms your analysis from a guessing game into a precise science.
Fig.1 Plot comparing peptide frequencies from Sanger sequencing and NGS.1
| Feature | Traditional Sanger Sequencing | Modern Phage Display NGS |
|---|---|---|
| Data Scope | A small, random sample (100s of clones) | The complete picture (Millions of clones) |
| Data Quality | Qualitative (Yes/No) | Quantitative (Frequencies, enrichment data) |
| Candidate Discovery | High risk of missing the best binders | Identifies all candidates, including rare ones |
| Accuracy | Can be biased by fast-growing clones | Accurately identifies true high-affinity binders |
| Insights | Basic list of a few sequences | Ranks all binders by performance, reveals patterns |
| Efficiency | Slow and manual | Fast, automated, and streamlined |
Our phage display next-generation sequencing service is a full-spectrum offering designed to streamline your peptide or antibody discovery workflow—from initial library preparation to bioinformatic sequence interpretation. Whether you are working with immune libraries, synthetic peptide scaffolds, or VHH formats, we provide flexible, customizable modules to support every stage of your phage display sequencing campaign.
We accept a wide range of input formats, including:
Clients can ship enriched phage particles or directly submit extracted phagemid/plasmid DNA. We also provide optional in-house biopanning, phage amplification, and DNA extraction services to ensure consistency across the pipeline.
Following DNA extraction, our team performs optimized library preparation to ensure compatibility with Illumina or Ion Torrent sequencing platforms. Key steps include:
We tailor library prep protocols based on whether the displayed molecule is a single-chain variable fragment (scFv), Fab, VHH, or random peptide.
We use high-throughput short-read sequencing technologies, with the following options available:
| Sequencing Platform | Read Type | Read Length | Typical Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illumina MiSeq | Paired-end | 2 × 300 bp | 1M–25M reads |
| Illumina NovaSeq | Paired-end | 2 × 150 bp | 100M+ reads |
| Ion Torrent | Single-end | 200–400 bp | Custom |
Coverage depth and platform are selected based on your project's complexity and diversity needs. High-diversity libraries or earlier panning rounds may require deeper sequencing.
This is where the real value of our phage display NGS service comes into play. We provide complete bioinformatic analysis tailored to your experimental goals, such as enrichment profiling, clone tracking, and epitope clustering. All data is delivered in human-readable reports, machine-processable formats, and an optional annotated visual dashboard.
By choosing Creative Biolabs' Phage Display NGS Service, you will receive:
We've designed our service to be easy and efficient, so you can focus on your research.
You simply provide us with a small amount of your phage pools from each round of panning. Our team will consult with you to understand your project goals and ensure everything is perfectly set up.
Our expert lab technicians handle everything from here. We extract the DNA, prepare it for sequencing using our optimized protocols, and run it on state-of-the-art Illumina sequencing platforms. This generates millions of high-quality data points for analysis.
This is where the magic happens. Our robust bioinformatics pipeline, explicitly designed for phage display, processes the millions of raw reads. We identify all the unique sequences, count them, and analyze their enrichment from one round to the next.
We deliver a comprehensive yet easy-to-understand report. It includes a ranked list of top candidates, helpful data visualizations (like graphs and charts), and all the supporting data. We'll schedule a meeting to review the results and help you plan your next steps.
Creative Biolabs offers a comprehensive phage display next-generation sequencing service that enables researchers to use the tools needed to identify high-affinity ligands, peptides, and antibodies for their specific targets. With our expertise, cutting-edge technology, and tailored solutions, we are committed to helping you accelerate your research and achieve your scientific goals. Suppose you want to enhance your phage display study and gain deeper insights into your library sequences, partner with us. Our team is ready to assist you in every step of the process, from library construction to data interpretation, ensuring you have the support and resources needed to succeed. For more information or to request a quote, .
Q: Do I need any special reagents or preparations before starting the service?
A: No special preparations are required from your side beyond providing a phage display library. However, if you have specific requirements, such as unique targets or custom libraries, please inform us, and we will accommodate those needs to ensure the best results for your research.
Q: How do you ensure accuracy in sequencing and avoid bias in PCR amplification?
A: We optimize primer design, minimize amplification cycles, and apply stringent quality control during library prep. Additionally, we include technical replicates and unique molecular identifiers when necessary to reduce PCR bias.
Q: Is your Phage Display NGS service suitable for clinical diagnostics development?
A: Our service is designed strictly for research use only. While it can support preclinical discovery and candidate screening, it is not intended for clinical diagnostic use or regulatory submission.
Q: How do I get started with your Phage Display NGS service?
A: Just or email our team. Once we understand your project goals and sample availability, we'll prepare a tailored quote and shipping instructions to initiate the process.
Reference:
Please kindly note that our services can only be used to support research purposes (Not for clinical use).
Creative Biolabs is a globally recognized phage company. Creative Biolabs is committed to providing researchers with the most reliable service and the most competitive price.
