Introduction
Epitope mapping, a method commonly used to identify the antigen-binding site of an antibody, aids in the development
of therapeutic antibodies. It plays a key role in functional understanding and selection of antibodies, intellectual
property protection and corresponding regulatory approval. Accurate characterization of epitopes on antigens is a
critical step in understanding the pathogenesis of infectious agents and in the development of drugs and vaccines
against toxins or enzymes. MS has proven to be a powerful tool for studying non-covalent molecular interactions,
such as those involving antibody-antigen (Ab-Ag) binding. The characterization of peptides and proteins by applying
MS has emerged as a versatile and powerful method for the precise determination of partial structures (epitopes) of
soluble antigens that interact with antibodies, and the linear epitope on the antigen can be accurately located in a
short time by comparing the free antigen and the antigen-antibody complex.
Our Services
Thanks to our advanced mass spectrometry platform, Creative Proteomics offers a unique analytical
service for antibody epitope mapping. Our service allows the analysis of monoclonal antibodies for any type of
protein antigen for epitope determination.
Based on mass spectrometry, our antibody epitope mapping service allows epitope characterization at high resolution
with fast turnaround time.
Here, our expert team provides you with a high-quality service using the following analysis protocols.
- The antigen is combined with the immobilized antibody and then digested with various proteases.
- The antigenic protein is digested by proteolytic enzymes to generate a suitable set of peptide fragments.
- Peptide fragments containing linear epitopes are selected and isolated from the peptide fragment pool by
immunoprecipitation using monoclonal antibodies.
- Immunoprecipitated peptides were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry.
Advantages of Our Antibody Epitope Mapping
- Broad applicability: Linear epitopes, conformational epitopes, discontinuous epitopes and multimeric protein
complexes.
- Target and sample diversity: Soluble, virus and antisera, polyclonal antibodies, purified monoclonal antibodies
and proteins.
- Low sample consumption: Even the weakest interactions can be characterized due to the high sensitivity (our
platform).
- High specificity and precision with short analysis duration: Mass spectrometry is a technique that ionizes
chemical species and maps the ion signal as a function of mass-to-charge ratio with high precision. Due to its
relative simplicity, mass spectrometry is less time-consuming than traditional methods such as NMR or X-ray
crystallography.
Applications
- Identification of highly antigenic epitopes for antibody production and vaccine development.
- Mapping antigen epitopes of antibodies.
- Define the best antibody clone against the target protein.
- Perform epitope mutation analysis.
- Mapping B cell epitopes.
Creative Proteomics is a reliable biopharmaceutical partner. Our professional team can provide
customers with comprehensive antibody epitope mapping services. Additionally, we will assist you in designing the
research program that best suits your purpose and advances your research. Please contact us immediately if you are interested in our services.
References
- Obungu V H, Gelfanova V, Huang L. (2013) Epitope mapping of antibodies by mass spectroscopy: a case study.
Methods Mol Biol. 988:291-302.
