Peptide Conjugates

For effective peptide-based immunization procedures and generation of anti-peptide antibodies, the use of peptide-carrier protein conjugates is recommended since peptides alone are usually insufficient in generating an immune response.
A critical step in generating such conjugates is finding a suited strategy to couple synthetic peptides to an appropriate carrier molecule. Selecting the most suitable carrier protein and choosing the correct conjugation chemistry can significantly improve the chance of producing high titre antibodies towards the peptide antigen of interest.
Ideally, the conjugated immunogen should present a peptide epitope similar to that observed in the native protein, with the correct orientation and flexibility. Keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) or bovine serum albumin (BSA) are routinely used as carrier proteins.
Conjugation of the peptide to the carrier protein is achieved via an N-terminal cysteine or C-terminal cysteine amide residue added to the peptides sequence. Crosslinking between the peptide and the carrier is commonly effected by an MBS-mediated optimized coupling procedure.
However, other carrier proteins (e.g. ovalbumin, thyroglobulin, tetanus toxoid, diphtheria toxoid, tuberculin PPD) and conjugation procedures (e.g. glutaraldehyde, bis-diazotised tolidine (BDT), carbodiimide) are available upon request.