Disulfide by Design 2.0: A web-based tool for disulfide engineering in proteins

Case ID:
15-1264

Background:

Immunoinformatics employs a computer-driven approach to identifying fragments of the target pathogen that would provide a suitable vaccine, avoiding potential safety concerns from the more traditional approach of using whole pathogens. Immunoinformatics now plays a crucial role in vaccine design, immunodiagnostic development, and antibody production.  Previously, vaccine development depended exclusively on immunological experiments which are relatively expensive and time-consuming. However, recent advances in the field of immunological bioinformatics have provided feasible tools which can be used to lessen the time and cost required for vaccine and antibody development. Immunoinformatics employs a computer-driven approach to identifying fragments of the target pathogen that would provide a suitable vaccine, avoiding potential safety concerns from the more traditional approach of using whole pathogens.

 

Technology: 

WSU Researchers have developed a web-based tool “Disulfide by Design 2” a key step in a newer, streamlined method of potential vaccine development called immunoinformatics that identifies fragments of the target pathogen that would provide a suitable vaccine, avoiding potential safety concerns from the more traditional approach of using whole pathogens. Computational techniques can predict locations in a protein or peptide where disulfide bonds can be introduced. Several peptide fragments from different proteins of the virus can be linked together and simultaneously provide immunity for different strains of a virus or to ensure coverage of different stages of the viral life cycle, known as multi-epitope peptide vaccine, or MEPV, development.

 

Commercial Application:

Vaccine development using immunoinformatics

 

Benefits:

  • The production of peptide-based vaccines is much simpler, faster and cost-effective compared to the classical whole pathogen approach.
  • Shorter development cycle
  • Fewer production challenges
  • Mitigates the potential of incomplete inactivation and allergic responses

 

Publications

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24289175/DbD2/

 

Access

http://cptweb.cpt.wayne.edu

 

 

Patent Information:
For Information, Contact:
Robert Olson
Wayne State University
 
Inventors:
Alan Dombkowski
Douglas Craig
Keywords:
Coronavirus
COVID-19