AUTOMATIC PARALLEL PEPTIDE SYNTHESIZER FOR AIDS VACCINE

THIS PROJECT RELATES TO THE INVENTION OF A SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC MULTIPLE-PARALLEL SYNTHESIS OR SEQUENCING OF BIOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT POLYMERS. CHEMICALLY SYNTHESIZED PEPTIDES, EACH OF WHICH STARTS AT A MORE ADVANCED POSITION ALONG PREVIOUSLY SEQUENCED CODING DNA (I.E., WALK ALONG THE GENE) ARE NOW BEING USED TO LOCATE ANTIGEN SITES OR EPITOPESTO WHICH AUTOANTIBODIES OR ANTIBODIES THAT HAVE BEEN PRODUCED BY EXPOSURE TO COMPLETE PROTEINS REACT. THE AIM IS TO PRODUCE ARTIFICIAL PEPTIDE-BASED VACCINES AGAINST HIV AND OTHER PATHOGENIC VIRUSES AND TO IDENTIFY EPITOPES INVOLVED IN AUTOIMMUNITY. IN THIS SYSTEM, A SERIES OF SEQUENTIAL REACTIONS ARE CARRIED OUT IN PARALLEL, WITH A PREPROGRAMMED AMINO ACID FOREACH PARALLEL ADDITION REACTION KEPT SEPARATE AND WITH METHODS FOR KEEPING THE SYNTHESIS OR CLEAVAGE SITES SEPARATE, THE REAGENT STREAMS ACCURATELY APPORTIONED AND SEPARATE, AND INDIVIDUAL REAGENTS EFFECTIVELY SEGMENTED. ALSO INCLUDED ARE POSITIVE METHODS FOR MOVING SMALL VOLUMES THROUGH THE SYSTEM, WITH REAGENT VOLUMES KEPT TO A MINIMUM, AND METHODS FOR POSITIVELY WASHING ATTACHMENT SITES FREE OF REAGENTS. THE PRINCIPLES ON WHICH THE SYSTEM IS BASED ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE SYNTHESIS OF OLIGONUCLEOTIDES AND EVENTUALLY TO AMINO ACID SEQUENCING. THE SYSTEM CAN BE BUILT ON EITHER A MICRO- OR PREPARATIVE SCALE.