ATLAb™ - Multidimensional Epitope Mapping
Information about the binding sites (epitopes) of proteins recognized by antibodies is important for their use as biological or diagnostic tools as well as for understanding their mechanisms of action. However, antigens are highly diverse, in their primary sequence as well as in three dimensional structures. Epitopes generally fall into 3 categories: 1) linear epitopes, i.e. the antibody binds to residues on a linear part of the polypeptide chain, 2) conformational epitopes, where the binding site is formed by a structural element (e.g. α-helix, loop), 3) discontinuous epitopes where two or more separate stretches of the polypeptide chain which are brought together in the three dimensional structure of the antigen form the binding surface. BioAtla has developed a rapid process, Multidimensional Epitope Mapping (MEM), for the identification of the epitope and the resolution of the amino acids that are important for antibody binding.