Epitope mapping

Epitope mapping is the process of experimentally identifying the binding sites, or ‘epitopes’, of antibodies on their target antigens. Identification and characterization of the binding sites of antibodies can aid in the discovery and development of new therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics. Characterization of epitopes can also help elucidate the mechanism of binding for an antibody and facilitate the prediction of B cell epitopes using robust algorithms. Epitopes can be generally divided into 2 main classes-linear and conformational. Linear epitopes are formed by a continuous sequence of amino acids in a protein, while conformational epitopes are composed of amino acids that are discontinuous in the protein sequence but are brought together upon three-dimensional protein folding. The vast majority of antigen-antibody interactions have conformational epitopes.