Synthetic Polypeptides as Antigens is the first volume to give a comprehensive treatment under one cover of the various techniques used for synthesizing peptides by the solid phase approach, for coupling them to carrier molecules and analyzing their immunochemical activity by a variety of immunoassays. This book also describes methods for analyzing the antigenic structure of proteins and predicting the location of their antigenic sites. Recent advances in the detection of gene products with antipeptide antibodies, and the still controversial use of synthetic peptides as vaccines are also described. The book provides: - detailed descriptions of procedures - extensive bibliography - detailed analysis of the structural basis of antigenicity in proteins Synthetic Polypeptides as Antigens is intended for researchers and graduate students in molecular biology, protein structure, immunology, virology, and microbiology. Those using synthetic peptides as immunological probes will find this a most useful book, as will those wishing to overcome the difficulties of achieving antigenic mimicry by synthesis.

The Novartis Foundation Series is a popular collection of the proceedings from Novartis Foundation Symposia, in which groups of leading scientists from a range of topics across biology, chemistry and medicine assembled to present papers and discuss results. The Novartis Foundation, originally known as the Ciba Foundation, is well known to scientists and clinicians around the world.

Synthetic Polypeptides as Antigens is the first volume to give a comprehensive treatment under one cover of the various techniques used for synthesizing peptides by the solid phase approach, for coupling them to carrier molecules and analyzing their immunochemical activity by a variety of immunoassays. This book also describes methods for analyzing the antigenic structure of proteins and predicting the location of their antigenic sites. Recent advances in the detection of gene products with antipeptide antibodies, and the still controversial use of synthetic peptides as vaccines are also described. The book provides: - detailed descriptions of procedures - extensive bibliography - detailed analysis of the structural basis of antigenicity in proteins Synthetic Polypeptides as Antigens is intended for researchers and graduate students in molecular biology, protein structure, immunology, virology, and microbiology. Those using synthetic peptides as immunological probes will find this a most useful book, as will those wishing to overcome the difficulties of achieving antigenic mimicry by synthesis.

This newest edition to the Laboratory Techniques Series gives current state of the art use of synthetic peptides in molecular biology and practical protocols on how to conjugate peptides, immunize animals with peptides and monitor immune responses to peptides in vitro. It gives background information on antigenic specificity, prediction of antigenic sites in proteins and applications of peptides in immunology and virology, as probes in diagnosis and as vaccines. The book also describes antigenicity of proteins and methods to localize antigenic sites as well as methods for predicting epitoxes, and gives detailed protocols for peptide-carrier conjugation, immunization with peptides, and peptide immunoassays. The volume also describes typical use of antipeptide antibodies in molecular and cellular biology as well as the use of peptides in the diagnosis of viral infections and autoimmune diseases, and the use of peptides as potential synthetic vaccines. An excellent edition to an excellent series, available in hardbound and paperback.

Structure of Antigens discusses a variety of topics dealing with the structural basis of antigenicity. Topics include the analytical methods used to elucidate the structure of antigens, the structure of antibodies, the principles underlying modern immunoassays and the measurement of antibody binding affinity, and physicochemical principles and methodological aspects. The book also considers major groups of antigens distinguished by their functional activity and biological role (e.g., drugs, autoantigens, snake toxins, allergens) or by their association with particular biological systems (e.g., antigens of microorganisms). Structure of Antigens will provide a current, useful, reference for researchers and graduate students in all fields of biological science who need an overview of antigenic specificity. VOLUME II

This symposium was established in 1976 for the purpose of bringing to gether once every two or three years, active investigators in the fore front of contemporary immunology, to present their findings and to discuss their significance in the light of current concepts and to identify important new directions of investigation. The founding of the symposium was stimulated by the achievement of major breakthroughs in the under standing of the immune recognition of proteins and peptides. We believed that these breakthroughs will lead to the creation of a new generation of peptides which should have enormous potential in biological, therapeutic and basic applications. This anticipated explosion has finally occurred and many applications of these peptides are now being realized. The main symposia topics of the fourth symposium were: T-cell recognition of proteins, structure and function of the T-cell receptor, presentation of protein antigens, recycling and activation of membrane receptor molecules, Ir-gene control of T-cell responses and methods of cell separation. The molecular features recognized by antibodies on proteins were the first immune recognition sites to be local ized and confirmed by synthetic peptides. The complete antigenic structures of several proteins have been defined, and individual antigenic sites have been described on many more proteins. More recently, major breakthroughs have been reported in the immune recognition of proteins by T cells.