Synthetic antivenom update!

 

3D protein view

I trust this lab note finds you intrigued by the developments in my research journey during the first quarter of this semester. I must begin by offering my apologies for not sharing my progress earlier.

Let's start with some exciting news: I was fortunate enough to secure a scholarship from my country's Ministry of Sciences to participate in a course titled "BR03 - IDENTIFICATION OF EPITOPES IN PROTEINS (SPOT-SYNTHESIS, PHAGE DISPLAY, AND BIOINFORMATICS ANALYSIS), SYNTHESIS, ENCAPSULATION, AND EVALUATION," offered by CABBIO. This course has proven to be a valuable source of knowledge, equipping me with the tools I need to boost the project.

Now, regarding my initial project timeline, I was expecting to complete the purification of antibodies by the end of this month. However, I had to rethink a methodology aspect due to the time demands of my master's program. After consultations with my thesis advisor and co-advisor, we decided to embark on an intriguing in silico phase. The goal? To predict the sequences of antibodies capable of reacting with one of the toxins produced by L. casanarensis. This strategic shift will enable us to reduce the time spent on conventional lab procedures and allocate the resources obtained with your help to the Cell-free system phase.

How am I doing this? I've done the prediction of potential epitopes on the toxin with IEDB. Subsequently, I've dived into Python programming and two bioinformatic softwares which allow me to develope de novo Antibody prediction. Then I'll extract the sequence that will be the template for the Cell-free system. To be honest, I'm feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness as I use these bioinformatic tools. I'm eager to learn these new approaches!

I promise to keep you informed with regular updates on our progress. If you have any questions or brilliant insights to share, don't hesitate to reach out.

Thank you for being a part of this scientific adventure!