Cell-based Assays
Boost mRNA encoding a NanoLuc-tagged protein into your cells and read target engagement on a NanoBRET plate the same day, with a full dose-response in one run. The same boost also delivers LgBiT protein for live-cell degradation assays.
Current Workflow is Laborious and Costly
A NanoBRET or LgBiT/HiBiT assay normally starts with a cell line that stably expresses the tagged protein of interest. Cloning, transfection, selection and expansion take months per target, and you’re restricted to cell lines that transfect well — primary and hard-to-transfect cells are out.
01
Design tagged construct
02
Generate stable cell line
03
Wait weeks and verify correct clones
04
Run assay
Lengthy workflow
Portal has the Solution
01
Prepare
Cells of choice, no stable line
02
Mix
Cells + RNA encoding tagged POI
03
Boost
Gateway™ mechanoporation
04
Express
Tagged POI within hours
05
Assay
NanoBRET or LgBiT/HiBiT
Assay completed in days with desired cell type
1 day
To assay-ready cells, against months to build a stable cell line
Any cell
Cell lines, primary cells, and hard-to-transfect cells — no stable line to build
96- or 384-well plates
96- or 384-well plates, boosted in line on an existing dispenser with Galaxy-i
The cargo and protocols below make this kit specific. The core consumables, settings, and support ship with every Portal kit.
Available Cargoes
Reagents & Consumables
Protocol & Settings
Support
Available Cargoes
Reagents & Consumables
Protocol & Settings
Support
Merck boosted mRNA encoding VHL-NanoLuc into AsPC-1 cells at 1×10⁶ cells and 10 µg mRNA. Luminescence came back around 600 times the non-boosted control, showing the tagged protein reached working levels. A BODIPY tracer bound VHL-NanoLuc and produced a BRET signal at 618 nm, and titrating the competitive VHL ligand VH298 displaced it in a dose-response that reached full effect at 10 µM. The assay usually requires a stably expressing VHL-NanoLuc line for each target; here it ran without one, saving the time and cost of building it. (Merck, 2026 Portal drug discovery whitepaper.)
MiaPaCa-2 cells carrying a HiBiT tag knocked into the endogenous KRAS(G12C) locus were boosted with Promega's LgBiT protein. LgBiT and HiBiT complement inside the cell to reconstitute an active luciferase, so endogenous KRAS is quantified by luminescence without lysis. The G12C-specific degrader LC-2 reduced the signal dose-dependently over 24 hours, to roughly 40% of the 0 µM arm at 1 µM, 25% at 5 µM and 10% at 10 µM. Untreated, no-boost and no-cargo controls all sat at baseline. (Promega collaboration.)
A HiBiT/LgBiT pair tracked protein-of-interest levels continuously over 22 hours of degrader treatment. Signal in non-boosted cells plateaued at about 60% of the DMSO control, while boosted cells reached about 15%. Boosting bypasses the degrader’s own permeability, so the difference reflects degradation rather than uptake, and the live-cell format supports a continuous kinetic read. (Merck.)
A single boost of GFP mRNA reached most live unstimulated primary human T cells, and iPSCs too, with viability largely preserved — both are notoriously delicate to engineer. The RNA is unmodified: the boost drops it into the cytosol rather than through an endosome, so it expresses without base modification. (Hirsch et al., Keystone 2023 and 2024.)
See how Portal and Promega are enabling AbbVie to test impermeable small molecules, protein degraders, and gene editing constructs inside living cells to accelerate early drug discovery decisions.
mRNA, siRNA, saRNA
Proteins & Peptides
CRISPR RNPs
Small Molecules
Polymers
Nanoparticles
Antibodies
Virus
PBMCs
T cells
B cells
NK cells
iPSCs
Monocytes
RBCs
HSCsmRNA, siRNA, saRNAProteins & PeptidesCRISPR RNPsSmall MoleculesPolymersNanoparticlesAntibodiesVirusPBMCsT cellsB cellsNK cellsiPSCsMonocytesRBCsHSCsValidated live-cell workflows for target engagement, compound profiling, and beyond.
Every kit includes: Cargoes · Optimized protocols · MicroBooster™ cartridges · Suggested readouts · Reagents
