back to AsG Korth

Special methodical expertise

Generation of targeted ligands: mono- and polyclonal antibodies, recombinant scFv antibody fragements and in silico affinity purification of those
Generation of conformation-specific ligands
Proteomics of protein conformers

1. The ability to detect biomolecules in complex solutions, i.e. solutions where throusands of molecules are present at the same time is key for characterizing biological processes in vivo. Our expertise skill is to generate antibodies to molecules of choice to enable detection of these particular molecules to be investigated. We are also engineering recombinant antibodies to ligands in bacteria.


2. Molecular diversity exists not only between different polypeptide sequences but also between different three-dimensional foldings, i.e. how the same polypeptide chain folds in space. We are generating ligands that specifically recognize one such folding, or "conformation", and not another; this is possible since different conformers display different surfaces, or epitopes. It has been shown that one conformer can display a biological function while another cannot.


3. We have developed protocols of isolating a population of conformers characterized by common biochemical characteristics, e.g. solubility in defined detergents; these conformers are then analyzed by mass spectrometry techniques for their identities.