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Eriksson C, Gunasekera S, Muhammad T, Zhang M, Laurén I, Mangsbo SM, Lord M, Göransson U
Chembiochem - (-) e202300103 [2023-04-06; online 2023-04-06]
The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is a global health issue. The spread of the virus has resulted in more than six million deaths to date. The emergence of new viral strains highlights the importance of continuous surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, using timely and accurate diagnostic tools. Here, we used stable cyclic peptide scaffolds to present antigenic sequences derived from spike protein, reactive to SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Using peptide sequences from different domains of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, we grafted epitopes on the peptide scaffold sunflower trypsin inhibitor 1 (SFTI-1). These scaffold peptides were then used to develop a SARS-CoV-2 ELISA to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in serum. We show that displaying epitopes in the scaffold improves reactivity overall. One of the scaffold peptides (S2_1146-1161_c) has reactivity equal to commercial assays, and shows diagnostic potential.
Funder: KAW/SciLifeLab National COVID program
PubMed 37021633
DOI 10.1002/cbic.202300103
Crossref 10.1002/cbic.202300103