Thermo Scientific Imject Maleimide-Activated Blue Carrier products enable conjugation of sulfhydryl-containing peptide antigens to this soluble immunogenic carrier protein for immunization and effective antibody production.
Blue Carrier* Protein is a large hemocyanin that is highly immunogenic like keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) yet is more soluble. The carrier is rendered sulfhydryl-reactive by chemical modification with Sulfo-SMCC crosslinker, and the resulting maleimide-activated protein is then stabilized and lyophilized in phosphate buffer. Maleimide groups form covalent crosslinks with sulfhydryl (-SH) moieties on cysteine residues of peptides and other thiol-containing haptens. Numerous antigen molecules can be conjugated to each Blue Carrier Protein molecule to make them highly immunogenic and increase the likelihood of eliciting immunized animals to produce high-titer antisera to the epitopes of interest. Select from among several package sizes of activated Blue Carrier protein, or choose the complete conjugation kit that includes optimized buffers and trouble-free spin desalting columns.
Highlights:
- Convenient kit – containing stabilized, lyophilized Maleimide-Activated Blue Carrier Protein (in PBS with stabilizer) and accessory components to easily prepare ready-to-use immunogens for immunization
- Optimized activation – specifications require that each lot is activated with more than 400 moles of sulhydryl-reactive maleimide per mole of carrier, ensuring consistently high levels of conjugation
- Sulfhydryl-reactive – engineered for conjugating cysteine-containing peptide antigens to make effective immunogens for high-titer antibody production
- Simple, rapid procedure – complete the hapten-carrier conjugation reaction in two hours to yield sufficient immunogen for several injections and booster immunizations of host animals
- High-quality carrier protein – Blue Carrier Protein is ultrapure Concholepas concholepas hemocyanin (CCH) prepared from molluscan hemolymph
- Highly immunogenic and soluble – CCH has a high molecular mass that elicits a stronger immune response than BSA or ovalbumin
Product Details:
Carrier proteins are large, complex molecules capable of stimulating an immune response upon injection. Successful production of antibodies specific to small antigens (i.e., peptides or drug compounds) requires that these haptens be covalently conjugated to a larger, more complex molecule (usually a protein) to make them immunogenic. Carrier proteins are chosen based on immunogenicity, solubility, and whether an adequate level of hapten-carrier conjugation can be achieved.
Blue Carrier* Protein is specially purified hemocyanin from the mollusk Concholepas concholepas. The CCH protein is composed of two very large polypeptide subunits (404/351 kDa) that form an extremely stable heterodidecameric structure even in the absence of divalent cations. (By contrast, KLH has a less stable and soluble homodidecameric structure). The complex molecular arrangement of CCH subunits contains diverse repeated antigenic structures that elicit a strong immune reaction mediated by T and B lymphocytes.
Because of their large size and molecular complexity, KLH and CCH hemocyanins are carrier proteins of choice for use as immunogens to produce antibodies against haptens and peptides. Moreover, studies suggest that the strong DTH immune response elicited by hemocyanins in animals and in humans has beneficial therapeutic effects in certain types of cancer. New developments in the immunotherapy of cancer have taken advantage of the unique immunogenic properties of hemocyanins in the development of novel conjugate vaccines for treatment of emerging diseases.
| Structure and conjugation reaction scheme of Thermo Scientific Imject Maleimide-Activated Blue Carrier Protein. High-quality protein is modified with Sulfo-SMCC crosslinker to produce the maleimide-activated carrier protein, which is supplied lyophilized. Addition of peptides or other molecules containing reduced sulfhydryl groups results in efficient and specific reaction to form stable thioether bonds. Each carrier protein molecule contains several hundred maleimide activations, allowing conjugation of many peptide hapten molecules per immunogenic Blue Carrier* Protein molecule. |
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Cysteine peptide hapten conjugation efficiency comparison to KLH carrier proteins. Fluorophore-labeled hydrophilic and hydrophobic peptides were coupled to Thermo Scientific Imject Maleimide-Activated mcKLH, PEGylated mcKLH and Blue Carrier* Proteins using the standard kit protocols and buffers. The carrier-hapten conjugates were purified using the kit-supplied desalting columns. The conjugation efficiencies are the relative fluorescence units recovered for each protein compared to mcKLH. Error bars are the standard deviations for the two or three replicates of each condition.
Learn more...
Compare other performance characteristics of Blue Carrier Protein and KLH.
Fuller description of Imject Blue Carrier Protein (for EDC conjugation).
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References:
- Harlow, E. and Lane, D. (1988). Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual. Cold Spring Harbor, New York: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Chapter 5 discusses the use of carrier proteins.
- Hermanson, G.T. (2008). Bioconjugate Techniques. 2nd edition, Academic Press, New York. (Part No. 20036). Chapter 19 discusses carrier protein uses and the maleimide-activation chemistry.
Related Resources:
Review of antibody production and immunogen preparation methods
Activation, conjugation and immune-response data for Imject Carrier Proteins
Related Products:
Maleimide-Activated KLH and Conjugation Kit ===== Looking for KLH or a convenient kit?
Sulfo-SMCC – crosslinker for activating BSA amines to make them sulfhydryl-reactive
SulfoLink Immobilization Kit for Peptides – for preparing an affinity column with a cysteine peptide
Blue Carrier Protein (non-activated) – for hapten conjugation through amines or carboxylates
Other Carrier Proteins
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