Fig. 1. Expanding the chemical substrate scope of the translation apparatus to include long chain carbon and cyclic amino acids.

a Substrates for translation compatible with the flexizyme (Fx) and cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) platforms. Long chain carbon (lcc) amino acid incorporation into peptides has proved challenging. b Examples of prominent polyamide polymers that possess significantly different properties, such as tensile strength (TS), based on backbone length, monomer functionality, and/or monomer sequence. c tRNA charging of lcc amino acids by the Fx system has remained challenging due to the resulting intramolecular lactam formation. d Strategy for incorporation of long chain carbon amino acids via Fx and in vitro translation.