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RSO Binder Design: A New Approach for De Novo Protein Design

Scientists have introduced a novel method for de novo protein design using a technique called relaxed sequence hallucination (RSO). This approach allows for the efficient and scalable generation of new protein backbones by exploring a continuous, "relaxed" sequence space, which offers orders-of-magnitude efficiency enhancements over previous hallucination methods like Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC). The method has been experimentally validated to produce real, well-folded proteins with correct secondary structures.

How RSO Binder Design Works

RSO Binder Design's pipeline combines a powerful hallucination protocol with a state-of-the-art sequence design model.

  1. Relaxed Sequence Representation: Instead of using a discrete, one-hot encoded sequence, the method represents each amino acid position as a vector of 20 floating-point values. This continuous representation enables a more targeted and efficient gradient descent approach to explore the protein structure space.

  2. Backbone Hallucination: The process uses a modified, differentiable version of AlphaFold2 to generate high-confidence protein backbones (pLDDT > 90) through a hallucination protocol that converges in fewer than 100 iterations, a significant improvement over MCMC's thousands of iterations.

  3. Sequence Generation: After a high-quality backbone is generated, a separate model, ProteinMPNN, is used to create a physical, one-hot encoded amino acid sequence that is likely to fold into the desired structure. This two-step process is crucial for ensuring the resulting proteins are soluble and functional.

What is Tamarind Bio?

Tamarind Bio is a pioneering no-code bioinformatics platform built to democratize access to powerful computational tools for life scientists and researchers. Recognizing that many cutting-edge machine learning models are often difficult to deploy and use, Tamarind provides an intuitive, web-based environment that completely abstracts away the complexities of high-performance computing, software dependencies, and command-line interfaces.

The platform is designed provide easy access to biologists, chemists, and other researchers who may not have a background in programming or cloud infrastructure but want to run experimental models with their data. Key features include a user-friendly graphical interface for setting up and launching experiments, a robust API for integration into existing research pipelines, and an automated system for managing and scaling computational resources. By handling the technical heavy lifting, Tamarind empowers researchers to concentrate on their scientific questions and accelerate the pace of discovery.

Accelerating Discovery with RSO Binder Design on Tamarind Bio

Integrating RSO Binder Design on a platform like Tamarind could drastically speed up protein design by providing a highly efficient and versatile workflow.

  • De Novo Design: The method is capable of designing not only single-chain proteins but also complex homooligomers and heterodimers, which have been experimentally verified to form as designed. This capability is critical for creating novel protein-protein interfaces for therapeutic applications.

  • High-Throughput and Scalability: The speed of the hallucination protocol allows for rapid generation of a large number of diverse backbones. This, combined with the high experimental success rate of the designs, makes it ideal for high-throughput discovery campaigns.

  • Accessible Workflow: By running this computationally intensive pipeline on a platform like Tamarind, researchers can bypass the need for specialized hardware and software, making powerful de novo design tools accessible to a wider community.

How to Use RSO Binder Design on Tamarind Bio

To leverage the power of RSO Binder Design, a researcher could follow this streamlined workflow on Tamarind:

  1. Access the Platform: Begin by logging in to the tamarind.bio website.

  2. Select RSO Binder Design: From the list of available computational models, choose the RSO Binder Design tool.

  3. Define Design Goal: Specify the desired properties of the protein, such as length, oligomeric state (monomer, dimer, etc.), and secondary structure composition.

  4. Generate Backbones: The platform would run the relaxed sequence hallucination protocol to efficiently generate a diverse set of protein backbones that meet the specified criteria.

  5. Create Sequences: For each promising backbone, the platform would use ProteinMPNN to design a set of high-quality amino acid sequences.

  6. Validate and Express: The resulting designs can be verified with structure prediction models like ESM-Fold to ensure they fold correctly, and the best candidates can be selected for experimental production and characterization.

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