Houen Gunnar, Olsen Dorthe T
Department of Autoimmunology and Biomarkers, Statens Serum Institut, Artillerivej 5, 2300, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Methods Mol Biol. 2015;1348:59-64. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2999-3_7.
Conjugation to carrier proteins is necessary for peptides to be able to induce antibody formation when injected into animals together with a suitable adjuvant. This is usually performed by conjugation in solution followed by mixing with the adjuvant. Alternatively, the carrier may be adsorbed onto a solid support followed by activation and conjugation with the peptide by solid-phase chemistry. Different reagents can be used for conjugation through peptide functional groups (-SH, -NH2, -COOH) and various carrier proteins may be used depending on the peptides and the intended use of the antibodies. The solid phase may be an ion-exchange matrix, from which the conjugate can subsequently be eluted and mixed with adjuvant. Alternatively, the adjuvant aluminum hydroxide may be used as the solid-phase matrix, whereupon the carrier is immobilized and conjugated with peptide. The resulting adjuvant-carrier-peptide complexes may then be used directly for immunization.
