Epitope Mapping by Competition Assay Protocol The simplest way to determine whether two monoclonal antibodies bind to distinct sites on a protein antigen is to carry out a competition assay. The assay can be used with antibodies that bind both conformational and linear epitopes, and it is most useful in the analysis of monoclonal antibody specificity because polyclonal sera typically recognize multiple different epitopes.
Epitope Mapping Using Synthetic Biotin-Labeled Peptides Protocol A set of overlapping synthetic peptides is synthesized, each corresponding to a small segment of the linear sequence of a protein antigen and arrayed on a solid phase. The panel of solid-phase peptides is then probed with a test antibody, and bound antibody is detected using an enzyme-labeled secondary antibody. This method is very rapid and can be extraordinarily successful.
