Ribosome Profiling

^{Bridging the gap between mRNA and protein synthesis}

Standard Ribosome Profiling

Sucrose gradient / cushion-based ribosome isolation

Standard ribosome profiling (Ribo-seq), commonly referred as “Ingolia method”, enables genome-wide mapping of ribosomes with single nucleotide resolution.¹ Ribosome-protected mRNA fragments (RPFs, ~28–32 nt) are isolated via sucrose density gradient centrifugation or sucrose cushion, then converted into sequencing libraries compatible with Illumina platforms.

Active Ribosome Profiling

Selective capture of actively translating ribosomes

Active ribosome profiling, or active Ribo-seq, leverages Immagina’s RiboLace technology, based on a proprietary puromycin-analogue molecule capable of isolating only actively translating ribosomes.² This method offers a more reliable way to assess the translational state of any biological system, showing higher correlation with protein levels when compared to standard Ribo-seq.

Key characteristics

	Standard Ribosome Profiling	Active Ribosome Profiling (RiboLace)
Captured ribosomes	Total ribosome population (active + inactive/stalled)	Actively translating ribosomes
Input	Primary cell lines ✓ Secondary cell lines ✓ Tissues ✓ Difficult samples ✓	Primary cell lines ✓ Secondary cell lines ✓ Tissues ✓ Difficult samples ✓
Disome/Trisome detection?	✓	✓
Other characteristics	Standardized method: extensive literature + community protocols	Improved correlation with protein levels

Learn more about standard Ribo-seq Learn more about active Ribo-seq

RiboWich

Challenging input in Ribo-seq studies

RiboWich (Ribosome sandWich) is a next-generation ribosome profiling platform that eliminates three major bottlenecks of standard Ribo-seq — ribosome purification, RNA extraction, and ribosome protected fragments (RPFs) size selection — by directly ligating sequencing adaptors to RPFs in lysate. Allowing processing up to 96 samles, RiboWich was co-developed by Immagina BioTechnology (Trento, Italy) and CNR's Institute of Biophysics under the eRIs (enhanced Ribosome Innovations) initiative. As of March 2026, RiboWich has not yet been commercialized. Contact us for early access to this groundbreaking approach for ribosome profiling.

Technical applications

Investigating translational control
Identification of new mechanisms of translational regulation 
Locating translational start sites and alternative reading frames 
Quantifying translational efficiency

Delivery time: 10 to 12 weeks

Service description and outcomes

Pre-service consultation: experimental design and BioIT analyses
Input material: flash-frozen cell pallets or tissues 
RPF pulldown and library preparation
NGS sequencing
Bioinformatic analysis