Optically patterned cell growth applied to the directed evolution of a GFP-based glucose sensor

Optically patterned cell growth was applied to the direct evolution of a green fluorescent protein (GFP) based glucose sensor. The fluorescent property of green proteins was utilized for development of the biosensor. The gene was modified so that it would bind a glucose molecule and couple its fluorescence properties to the binding event. A methodology called patchwork PCR, utilizing a combination of the PCR and DNA shuffling techniques was used for mutagenesis.