Molecular target information

In the absence of further targeting information, the expressed protein is secreted to the apoplast. The stability of antibodies in the apoplast is lower than in the lumen of the ER. Therefore, antibody expression levels can be increased up to ten times higher if the protein is retrieved to the ER lumen using an H/KDEL C-terminal tetra-peptide tag [133]. Again, although the principles of ER-retention in molecular farming have been established using antibodies, it is likely that they will also apply to many other proteins. 

In recent years, many of the molecular targets for drugs of abuse have been identified and cloned. In addition, it has been possible to integrate this information into a system that extends from the neuron to the behavioural consequences that follow prolonged drug abuse. 

A vibrational spectrum provides something like a structural fingerprint of matter because it is characteristic of chemical bonds in a specific molecule. Therefore, imaging based on vibrational spectroscopic signatures, such as Raman scattering and IR absorption, provides a great deal of molecular structural information about the target under study. 

---