Strategies for epitope analysis using peptide synthesis

Abstract

A recently developed approach to the synthesis and ELISA screening of large numbers of peptides is described. The method has created the opportunity to tackle questions about the sites and specificity of antigenic determinants which were formerly thought to be too difficult to answer. The various strategies for application of this method are described along with examples of their successful use. They include a procedure for locating all the continuous antigenic peptides of a protein antigen, and the identification of non-replaceable amino acid residues within an antigenic peptide. An approach to the determination of amino acid residues involved in the epitope for any monoclonal antibody is also described. These strategies open up the prospect of rapid mapping of the antigenic properties of hitherto poorly understood antigens.