BACTERIOPHAGE-EPITOPE LIBRARIES - THE GENERATION OF SPECIFIC BINDING-PROTEINS AND PEPTIDES IN-VITRO

New concepts and methodologies that can be used to generate proteins, such as specific variable regions of immunoglobulins and other binding peptides in an in vitro selection system are reviewed. These technolo gies can also be used to alter the kinetics, affinity and avidity of v arious binding interactions. The nature of epitopes recognized by spec ific antibodies or receptors can be delineated using selected epitopes displayed on bacteriophages. The basic principle of the technology is predicated upon the belief that if one has a large enough variety of keys, one can open any given lock. The range of utility of these syste ms to generate new reagents will impact upon the development of new di agnostic and therapeutic reagents. This technology should allow for a much wider range of probes which may have increased binding capacity a nd allow the development of more sensitive assays with higher signal t o noise ratios. These reagents can be produced more efficiently withou t the use of animals and will be used in diagnostic and experimental p athology. This brief review presents a concise description of the conc epts and uses of this new technology. Selected references and reviews are given as sources for further details.