Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/T24524/01
Title:	Acoustic wave technique to assess MHC-peptide interactions
Principal Investigator:	Rees, Professor R
Other Investigators:	Percival, Professor CJ Dodi, Dr IA Newton, Dr MI McHale, Professor G
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	School of Science & Technology
Organisation:	Nottingham Trent University
Scheme:	Postdoctoral Mobility PreFEC
Starts:	01 January 2005	Ends:	31 December 2005	Value (£):	77,174
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Biological & Medicinal Chem. Med.Instrument.Device& Equip. Tissue Engineering
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Healthcare
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
At present, measurement of peptide affinity binding to HLA antigen mainly centres around the use of cellular systems that do not allow real time measurements. This project, which is supported by the results of pilot studies, aims to establish the feasibility of an ex-vivo technique for the objective analysis of MHC peptide binding to HLA class I antigens, which will benefit immunology research in general and in particular will aid the development of vaccines incorporating defined immunogenic peptides. Techniques will be developed to allow layer guided surface acoustic Love wave devices to retain immobilised HLA class I antigen (where the heavy chain and b2m are co-valently linked) on the sensor surface; these will then be investigated for sensitivity to peptide interactions that will for the first time, allow the assessment of the kinetics of peptide - MHC interaction in a real time setting. A successful outcome of this work would pave the way for the development of a new and exciting tool for immunologists that would have wide application in vaccine design and formulation and more generally across the field of bio-molecular research where affinities and molecular interactions needed to be measured. This interdisciplinary project will utilise expertise in the fields of analytic chemistry / sensor physics and biomedical science that will allow Dr Stanley to apply his knowledge of the physical sciences to immunological applications, thus allowing him to acquire additional scientific expertise.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.ntu.ac.uk