3D determination of synthetic peptide constructs in cancer vaccine development
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB - Biovetenskap och material/Ytor, process och formulering |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 400 000 |
| Project duration | May 2020 - December 2021 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Research infrastructure - utilisation and collaboration |
| Call | Increasing PhD students' competence in neutron- and synchroton-based analysis methods in industry - spring 2020 |
| End-of-project report | 2020-00832_RISE-PhD Kristina Druceikaite.pdf (pdf, 150 kB) |
Important results from the project
The doctoral student was introduced to the small angle xray scattering measurement technique using synchrotron to learn the technique as such, but also the possibilities that the technique entails in the form of structure-related information using different length scales in complex constructs consisting of conjugates between most biological active units such as oligonucleotides, peptides and antibodies. Constructs have been measured at CoSAXS (MAX IV) and P12 (Petra III, Hamburg). Valuable information has been obtained and the conclusion shows the upcoming challenges with ON peptide-based conjugates.
Expected long term effects
The doctoral student has synthesized several ON-peptide conjugates including synthesis of oligonucleotides as well as finding suitable reaction, characterization and purification conditions for the generation of the final constructs. The main challenge was to find conditions that dissolve the constructs in different water-based solvent compositions including synchrotron measurement. The doctoral student has attended in person when the measurements took place at CoSAXS (MAX IV) and evaluated the results together with RISE colleague with expertise in the technique.
Approach and implementation
Initially, synthesis of at least two types of ON peptide conjugates were planned. Each sequence of biomolecules (peptides and oligonucleotides) was selected according to a specific task in a hypothetical pharmaceutical scenario. Unexpectedly, the solubility of starting materials and final constructs became one of the main issues since a homogeneous solution in the necessary buffer for the CoSAXS measurement is needed. Finding suitable conditions for the preparation, purification and characterization of the constructs prior to the measurement was very problematic.