Free radical induced polymerization of synthetic peptides into polymeric immunogens

Abstract

Free radical induced polymerization of vinyl monomers such as the acryloyl peptides described here is a facile ann rapid reaction used routinely; for example, in the polymerization of acrylamide and bisacrylamide for the assembly of polyacrylamide gels. The technology allows the incorporation of many of the same or different peptide determinations into a single polymer chain. In this study large polymers containing multiple copies of peptides representing T- and B-cell determinants of influenza haemagglutinin were constructed. The determinants retained antigenicity after the polymerization procedure and the polymers were highly immunogenic; the levels of antibody obtained after a single dose..