Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for screening the activity of a polypeptide, and, equally, for producing a polypeptide with a desired activity by said screening, in an efficient and cost effective manner and with high sensitivity. The methods of the present invention comprise (i) expressing a polypeptide by cell-free in vitro translation and (ii) determining the activity of the expressed polypeptide by solution titration with an interaction member. The screening of a wild-type polypeptide and a mutant library derived there from can be used for identifying a activity of these polypeptides to an interaction member as a consequence of one or more point mutations. Furthermore, the present invention relates to methods for identifying polypeptides with therapeutically relevant properties as a consequence of the identified desired activity of a polypeptide from a mutant library.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for screening the binding properties of constituent peptides of MHC molecules by providing in solution MHC molecules or their constituent peptides for a set of MHC molecules including a plurality of subsets of MHC molecules, wherein the MHC molecules of each subset differ from MHC molecules of at least one other subset in at least one of the putative MHC binding peptide, an MHC alpha chain and an MHC beta chain, and loading said MHC molecules with an MHC binding peptide by (i) refolding of the MHC alpha chain and beta chain peptides in presence of said MHC binding peptide or (ii) by peptide exchange or loading with an unlabelled MHC binding peptide in the absence of any labelled MHC binding peptide, (b) taking of at least one sample from each subset, and (c) determining loading efficiency for the sample of step (b).

Abstract: An optical detection device is provided for analyzing analytes in a liquid suspension or solution that can detect and process a large number of wavelengths of incident and fluorescent light simultaneously, which is small in size and can be easily adapted to different investigation requirements. The optical detection device may include a light supplying device, an analyte handling device, a light directing device, and a detector integrated on planar substrate devices, respectively. A plurality of optical waveguides are integrated in the substrate devices to direct light emitted by the light supplying device through the different sections of the optical detector to the detector. The analyte handling device may include an analyte channel for the liquid flow of the analyte suspension or solution and an analyte sorting device comprising several sorting channels.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an MHC binding polymer suitable for the oligomerisation of individual MHC monomers. The MHC binding polymer comprises a first segment and a second segment, wherein the first segment comprises a peptide capable of binding in a binding groove of an MHC molecule, and wherein the second segment comprises a linking segment and a recognition site for coupling the MHC binding polymer with a specific partner. The linking segment is a polymer with a length of at least 10 Angstrom in its native conformation. Further it relates to an MHC oligomer containing such MHC binding polymers. Individual functional MHC complex monomers are oligomerised via their peptides bound in the peptide binding groove of the complex. Moreover, it relates to a method of making such MHC binding polymer and oligomer and various methods using the same.

Abstract: An optical detection device is provided for analyzing analytes in a liquid suspension or solution that can detect and process a large number of wavelengths of incident and fluorescent light simultaneously, which is small in size and can be easily adapted to different investigation requirements. In one embodiment an optical detection device comprises a light supplying means (45), an analyte handling means, (78), a light directing means (19), and detection means, integrated on planar substrate devices (40), (20), and (30), (30?), respectively. A plurality of optical waveguides are integrated in the substrate devices to direct light emitted by the light supplying means (45) through the different sections of the optical detection device to the detection means. The analyte handling means (78) comprises an analyte channel (70) for the liquid flow of the analyte suspension or solution and an analyte sorting means (72) comprising several sorting channels (72?).

Abstract: An optical detection device is provided for analysing analytes in a liquid suspension or solution that can detect and process a large number of wavelengths of incident and fluorescent light simultaneously, which is small in size and can be easily adapted to different investigation requirements. In one embodiment an optical detection device comprises a light supplying means (45), an analyte handling means (78), a light directing means (19), and detection means, integrated on planar substrate devices (40), (20), and (30), (30?), respectively. A plurality of optical waveguides are integrated in the substrate devices to direct light emitted by the light supplying means (45) through the different sections of the optical detection device to the detection means. The analyte handling means (78) comprises an analyte channel (70) for the liquid flow of the analyte suspension or solution and an analyte sorting means (72) comprising several sorting channels (72?).