About Us - ePitope Informatics - epitope prediction and protein analysis

ePitope Informatics is a bioinformatics company formed in March 2000 to provide services for epitope discovery and analysis. Particular foci are epitope prediction for the identification and targeting of antibody epitopes, and epitope contextual analysis.

ePitope Informatics operates globally with clients working in areas including vaccine and biotherapeutic agent design, and antibody production and targeting for diagnostics and life science research. To date, ePitope Informatics' clients have come from biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies, hospitals, medical schools, research institutes and universities.

Currently, ePitope Informatics is developing new services for epitope redesign for applications including modifying the immunogenicity of vaccine and biotherapeutic agents.

In-house service provision utilises:

An up-to-date comprehensive library of commercially licensed, proprietary and open-source scientific software and databases, including Discovery Studio software from BIOVIA (formerly Accelrys).

High performance computing (workstations).

NVIDIA professional graphics workstations and stereoscopic 3-D viewing hardware (from NVIDIA and StereoGraphics/Real D) for protein modelling and epitope contextual analysis .

Latest resources for secure Internet-based operation and service delivery.

Our Aims

At ePitope Informatics, our goal is to achieve the highest quality of
service and support possible for all users.

We also aim to keep our services:

At the cutting-edge of in silico protein analysis.

Relevant to scientists' needs by constructively responding to
        feedback.

Accessible and easy to use.

The bigger picture

From genome to proteome
Genes encode proteins. The exponential increase in genetic
information from the Human Genome Project and other genome
sequencing efforts, is producing a vast wealth of protein sequence
information. As genome sequencing projects are completed,
research emphasis will increasingly redirect towards the proteome,
the protein complement of an organism. Accordingly, this shift in
emphasis will heighten the importance of proteomics, the study of
an organism's proteome, and especially in the areas of diagnostics,
therapeutics (more than 95% of drug targets are proteins), and cell
and molecular biology.

Proteomics target molecules
Thus, genome sequencing is just the beginning. The structure and
function of most of the proteins encoded by the tens of thousands
of genes being sequenced, remain to be determined. Further
increases in the number of different proteins for investigation occur
as a result of:

Post-translational modification of proteins in cells.

Proteins with multiple functions (in the same and different
        cells) that may be regulated by post-translational
        modification.

Cell, tissue and individual variations in the same protein
        (structure, function, activity) that occur as a result of innate
        and acquired differences in genome and/or coding sequences.

Antibodies and epitopes
Epitopes are regions on molecules that specifically bind antibodies
(see rotating protein molecule on Home page).

Regarding protein epitopes, antibodies are key tools for investigating:

Protein structure, function and activity.

Protein expression and location.

Protein interaction with other macromolecules and small
        molecules.

Antibody applications include:

Immunoassays.

Immunodiagnosis.

Vaccine production.

Immunoconjugate production (toxins, drugs, isotopes).

Immunotherapy (e.g. of cancer, autoimmune and other
         inflammatory diseases and allergic conditions).

Immunosensors.

New technologies utilising antibodies for proteomics studies and
diagnostics, include :

Rapid profiling protein arrays (protein-antibody interactions on
         high-throughput protein arrays).

High-throughput ELISA protein array systems.

Atomic force microscopy arrays (detects antibody-protein
         interactions at high sensitivity without the need for tagging).

The exponential increase in the number of target protein sequences and structures becoming available combined with an increasing variety of antibody applications, will generate the need for a greatly increased number of new antibodies.

The role of ePitope Informatics
Our goal is to promote and enhance antibody-centred investigation through offering services for the identification, analysis and targeting of antibody epitopes present at the surface of proteins.

Future goals
Longer term aims for ePitope Informatics include:

Developing new services for linear and conformational antibody
         epitope prediction.

Being an educational facility for undergraduate and
         postgraduate students seeking to pursue a period of time in
         industry as part of an intercalated degree course.

         In this situation, ePitope Informatics would aim to provide a
         supportive and stimulating, high quality teaching and
         learning environment for the pursuit of research project
         work in the areas of pure and applied bioinformatics.

epitope prediction
Consensus epitope prediction
(Human DNA
repair protein,
MGMT - peak
epitope residues
shown in gold).