In immunology, epitope mapping is the process of experimentally identifying the binding site, or epitope, of an antibody on its target antigen (usually, on a protein). [1] [2] [3] Identification and characterization of antibody binding sites aid in the discovery and development of new therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics.

The particular area of the antigen recognized by the antibody is called the epitope, and for proteinaceous antigens the epitope can be of complex nature. Information about the binding epitope of an antibody can provide important mechanistic insights and indicate for what applications an antibody might be useful.

早期表位作图或定位 (epitopemapping)主要是采用精细的、但十分繁琐的 蛋白质 化学方法。 这些方法是基于 蛋白质 修饰和降解的原理，可经侧链化学修饰法选择性地标记氨基酸，失去结合的部分将被测出。 蛋白质抗原被降解为小片段，经测序后确定抗体结合的位点。 虽然其结果在蛋白化学中是非常完美的例子，但是要确定某一抗原的全部表位需要大量的时间。 分子 克隆 技术和肽链合成方法的进展极大地促进了表位作图方法的改进。 现已可以通过诱变、 蛋白质合成 或蛋白 …

2018年5月1日 · The ability to identify epitopes has important applications for disease diagnosis, identification of vaccine candidates, or targets of autoantibodies. Epitope mapping is also central in the characterization of antibodies that bind therapeutic targets and has shown potential to stratify responders from non-responders for antibody-based therapy ...

抗原表位鉴定（ Epitope mapping ）的方法有许多，传统的抗原表位鉴定方法主要有合成多肽技术、肽扫描技术、丙氨酸突变技术、噬菌体展示技术、质谱技术、肽/蛋白微阵列技术等，但传统的表位鉴定方法大多基于功能性表位鉴定的方法，在一定程度上有其局限性 ...

In this article we discuss a range of methods that enable epitope discovery based on a specific antibody. Such a reversed immunological approach is the first step in the rational design of an epitope-based vaccine. Undoubtedly, the gold standard for epitope definition is x-ray analyses of crystals of antigen: antibody complexes.

Epitope mapping helps determine target epitope similarity, which is critical for ensuring similar binding properties and efficacy in biosimilar development and evaluation. Detailed epitope information can strengthen patent claims either as a basis to claim a position or to differentiate from prior art and as such enhance patent protection for ...

2025年1月23日 · Epitope analysis methods allow for a detailed understanding of antibody target specificity, but are often limited in their resolution and comprehensiveness. This study develops a high-throughput epitope analysis method called DECODE that provides single amino acid resolution for antibodies that recognize linear epitopes.

Classical epitope mapping is a simple method in which defined fragments of the cDNA for the antigen of interest are expressed as recombinant proteins and probed with autoantisera in various assays such as Western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), or radioimmunoassay (RIA).

Integral Molecular’s proprietary Shotgun Mutagenesis technology is the only high-throughput technique that can reliably map conformational epitopes at single amino acid resolution. We have mapped 1,000+ epitopes to date with >95% success, including: