One of the most critical considerations you’ll have to make when starting your personalized antibody project is selecting the appropriate antigen. If you’re not sure where to begin, think about the target protein’s nature and the end-use application you want to develop. It’s important to keep these things in mind while developing an antigen strategy. When producing bespoke antibodies, there are two ways to go about it. The first and most widely recommended immunogen is protein. The second approach depends on vaccination using short peptide synthesis from the target protein’s native sequence. Helpful guidance is given below to help you decide which method is best for your project.
Why are protein antigens used in vaccinations?
You need an antibody that can be used in a variety of settings.
Low sequence similarity to other proteins makes your target protein easier to produce and purify, as well as safe.
For what use do peptide antigens serve?
WB, ELISA, and post-translational modification detection are the only antibody applications you plan to use.
To successfully produce and purify your target protein, it has a high sequence similarity to other proteins.
Constraints of Peptide production polyclonal antibodies and Use
Peptide antigens are intriguing because of their low cost and rapid synthesis, however, they have limits. In contrast to protein antigens, peptide antigens are only capable of generating antibody responses to linear epitopes. As a result, their primary use is in the detection of PTMs, but peptide-generated antibodies may be useful in other contexts. Anti-peptide antibodies, for example, may be used in Western blots and ELISAs to measure protein levels. However, the linearized protein must replicate the epitopes of the linear peptide antigen used for vaccination to guarantee favorable outcomes.