Synthesis of multiple antigenic peptides: strategies and limitations
Dendrimeric platforms such as multiple antigenic peptides (MAP) can be synthesized either entirely by solid-phase methods (SPPS, direct approach) or by conjugation in SPPS-made building blocks (indirect approach).
Synthesis of Multiple Antigenic Peptides
MAP peptide synthesis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21391284
SPPS is the preferred method by LifeTein. The synthesis approach requires a branched poly-lysine core. Each branch is elongated into the corresponding epitope by stepwise SPPS. The disadvantage of this approach is that the synthetic errors could happened and cause microheterogeneity in the final materials. However the cost is lower and less time-consuming than the indirect approach. For very long linear peptides, it is more advantageous to use the SPPS method.
The MAP synthesis may not always meet with success. The solubility of the peptide epitope can also become an issue and is difficult to predict for long epitopes. It is recommended to carefully design and analyze the linear epitope before MAP synthesis.
Studies showed that synthesis with Ahx linker in the lysine core had better isolated yield. It is possible that the flexibilizing effect of Ahx helps in keeping peptide chains properly solvated during synthesis, preventing aggregation and hence increasing the amount of viable growing peptide sequences.