MengFei Sun is the Director of Drug Delivery at CATUG. Her team optimizes and develops lipid...
Feng Lu, Ph. D., is the Director of DNA at CATUG. She combines codon optimization, microbiology and extensive analytical methods to deliver high-performing DNA products.
Dr. Lu at her laboratory.
Meet Feng Lu, Director of DNA department
Suzhou, China, 2024 — After joining the team as Scientist in 2022, Dr. Feng Lu became the head of the department in 2023.
Looking at your resume seems clear you're interested in genetics
I am! I'm really interested in genetics and genomics. During my PhD at the University of Washington, in collaboration with South China Agriculture University, I researched on pathogenic gene functions and host-microbe interactions.
Now I oversee the DNA department at CATUG, focusing on DNA sequence optimization, plasmid construct design, production, and E. coli strain engineering. Our primary goal is to produce and purify high-quality plasmids or linear DNA for clients and internal RNA in vitro transcription (IVT) reactions.
How did you make the change from academia to industry?
The rise of mRNA vaccines and their transformative potential drew me to this field. At CATUG, I found a place where I can apply my expertise in microbiology, molecular biology, and biologics manufacturing to contribute to mRNA drug development and production. It seemed like a great fit.
❛❛ We use AI-driven technology to optimize codons and enhance translation efficiency ❜❜
How do you usually help clients who order DNA products from CATUG?
Our primary focus is on sequence optimization for RNA IVT and large-scale synthesis. We use AI-driven technology to optimize codons and enhance translation efficiency. We can also use it to adapt sequences to an animal model, for example, if a client provides a sequence from an insect and wants to express it in mammalian cells, we adjust the DNA sequence accordingly.
We also offer the possibility to insert the client's sequence into our proprietary backbones. These backbones have been optimized at several levels, for example they include our in-house designed UTRs, which are engineered not only at the primary sequence level but also at their secondary structure. All these improvements lead to higher mRNA transcription and protein translation.
And then you manufacture the plasmid DNA (pDNA) on a large scale?
Exactly. We use our engineered E. coli strain, which is designed to carefully produce plasmids with polyA sequences [plasmids intended for protein expression in eukaryotic cells]. These cultures are then transferred to large bioreactors for scale-up the plasmid production.
Plasmids with polyA sequences tend to form aggregates during fermentation. To avoid this, we have a library of backbones to increase the supercoiled ratio up to 95%.
Feng Lu and her team at CATUG's canteen in Suzhou, China, are pictured with the business development team members, Cesare Di Nitto and Chloe Wu, on either side of the table.
Why are supercoiled plasmids important?
Supercoiled plasmids are the native form on circular DNA plasmids. There is a strong relationship between the percentage of supercoiled plasmids and protein expression. We use our supercoiled plasmid backbone for internal use and customers orders. However, there is a fine line between aggregates and supercoiled plasmids. We conducted extensive internal research to create a backbone that minimizes aggregates.
❛❛ Our engineered E. coli strains, proprietary backbones and strong analytical methods help us deliver high-performing plasmids with high purity.❜❜
How does your team ensure high-quality pDNA production?
We use a combination of proprietary bacterial strains, optimized fermentation conditions, and purification techniques to ensure high supercoiled plasmid yields. Additionally, the analytical team has worked very hard to develop a purification step that helps us deliver plasmids with extremely low endotoxins or host cell proteins (HCP). This also ensures batch-to-batch consistency, which is essential for clinical and research applications.
As you see, it's a combined effort, the engineered E. coli strains, proprietary backbones and strong analytical methods help us deliver high-performing plasmids.
What are the advantages of having CATUG as supplier?
At CATUG, we handle everything from the initial DNA sequence to the final product. Including animal studies. This makes things much simpler for our customers. They don't need to produce their DNA with one supplier and package it with another one. Doing that with different companies can lead to inconsistencies, which isn't acceptable for medical research or treatments.
Additionally, we are very proud of our strong analytical pipeline. We ensure high-quality consumables and materials. All together, this shows our commitment to quality and speed in product development.
About CATUG
CATUG is a CRDMO for RNA therapeutics. We help academia and biotech companies to develop their projects efficiently, offering research support, CMC services, and GMP manufacturing. We work with labs of all sizes and stages, from research & discovery and clinical trials to product manufacturing for commercial use.
