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. 1999 Jul 1;341(Pt 1):173–178.

The influence of epitope availability on atomic-force microscope studies of antigen-antibody interactions.

S Allen 1, J Davies 1, M C Davies 1, A C Dawkes 1, C J Roberts 1, S J Tendler 1, P M Williams 1
PMCID: PMC1220344  PMID: 10377259

Abstract

The ability of the atomic-force microscope (AFM) to detect interaction forces between individual biological molecules has recently been demonstrated. In this study, force measurements have been obtained between AFM probes functionalized with the beta-subunit of human chorionic gonadotrophin (betahCG) and surfaces functionalized with anti-betahCG antibody. A comparison of the obtained results with previous anti-ferritin antibody-binding data identifies differences when the antigen molecule expresses only a single epitope (betahCG), rather than multiple epitopes (ferritin), for the monoclonal antibodies employed. Specifically, the probability of observing probe-sample adhesion is found to be higher when the antigen expresses multiple epitopes. However, the periodic force observed in the adhesive-force distribution, due to the rupture of single antigen-antibody interactions, is found to be larger and more clearly observed for the mono-epitopic system. Hence, these findings indicate the potential of the AFM to distinguish between multivalent and monovalent antibody-antigen interactions, and demonstrate the influence of the number of expressed epitopes upon such binding studies.

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Selected References

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