Development of an antibody mimetic using iBody
Scientists from the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry and the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS are continuing their research on iBodies technology. A new study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry describes the development of an antibody mimetic with a highly selective affinity using a biocompatible copolymer carrier (iBody).
"The peptide phage display method is a powerful tool for the discovery of novel ligands of pharmacologically relevant targets. However, the selected ligands often suffer from low affinity," explains Dr. Vladimír Šubr from the Department of Biomedical Polymers.
In a new study, scientists from the CAS have identified a novel bicyclic peptide for a clinically relevant tumor marker (PSMA) using a phage display. "We show that coupling multiple copies of the selected low-affinity peptide to a biocompatible N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (iBody) copolymer carrier improved conjugate binding ability by several orders of magnitude. Moreover, the polymeric conjugate can distinguish different conformations of the target protein, which we have demonstrated by ELISA, FACS, confocal microscopy and other biochemical methods," describes Dr. Libor Kostka from the same department.
