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Serologics

Serologics

High-throughput profiling of disease-associated autoantibody responses.

Serologics

The Serologics Department consists of the units: Serodiscovery and the Glyco-Immuno Analytics.

In the Serologics department we focus on the precise detection and characterization of autoantibodies and their involvement in several diseases. We generate comprehensive autoantibody profiles, enabling deeper insights into disease mechanisms and patient stratification. In addition, we perform epitope mapping and cross-reactivity analyses of therapeutic and research antibodies to better understand antibody specificity and function. Through innovative technologies and rigorous scientific approaches, we help translate immunological signatures into meaningful biomedical applications, with the overall goal to use their potential for early detection, prognosis and targeted therapy.

  • Carina Versantvoort

    Director Serologics Department

Our vision

We develop and apply innovative methods to identify and characterize autoantibody signatures, with the goal of improving the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of diseases. By generating new insights into disease initiation and progression, we aim to translate our discoveries into meaningful benefits for patients.

Serodiscovery

  • Carina Versantvoort

    Head of Functional Unit Serodiscovery

  • Dr. Alexandra Wasmuth

    Deputy Head of Functional Unit Serodiscovery

Activities and Competences

Our methods and platforms

PhiP Seq

NGS-assisted phage display enables the unbiased discovery of autoantibody targets directly from human plasma samples. A comprehensive whole-peptidome library comprising approximately 3 million overlapping peptides representing more than 21,000 human proteins is used to capture antibody-antigen interactions on a proteome-wide scale, enabling the identification of disease-associated antibody targets and immune signatures. Following antibody-mediated enrichment, next-generation sequencing (NGS) is used to identify bound peptides and their corresponding protein targets, providing deep insights into disease-associated immune responses and supporting biomarker discovery, patient stratification, and translational research.

Peptide Luminex

Peptide-based Luminex assays on the IntelliFlex® platform enable multiplex profiling and validation of antibody responses in human samples. Synthetic peptides can be assessed simultaneously in a multiplex format, allowing sensitive and quantitative measurement of antibody reactivity against up to 500 peptide targets in a single assay. Assays can be performed in either 96- or 384- well format.

ELISA (96/384-well)

A broad range of ELISA-based assays supports antibody characterization, biomarker validation and immunological research. Capabilities include peptide- and protein-based ELISAs for the detection of peptide-specific antibody responses, as well as bead based ELISAs for assessing the specificity and cross-reactivity of captured antibody subclasses. In addition, IgG quantification assays provide a sensitive and reliable alternative to conventional protein concentration measurements, enabling accurate sample characterization for downstream applications.

KingFisher platform

Automated magnetic particle processing on a 96-well microplate scale enables efficient and standardized handling of magnetic bead-based workflows. This technology supports high-throughput applications such as IgG purification, phage display screening, DNA purification, and other magnetic bead-based sample preparation workflows.

Glyco-Immuno Analytics

  • Carina Versantvoort

    Head of Functional Unit Glyco-Immuno Analytics

  • Dr. Antonia Hefermehl

    Deputy Head of Functional Unit Glyco-Immuno Analytics

Our activities and competences

Our methods and platforms

Glyco-Multiplex Assay

The Glyco-Multiplex assay combines automated glycan conjugation with high-throughput antibody profiling. Glycans are covalently coupled to color-coded magnetic beads using the KingFisher™ Magnetic Particle Processor. The glycan-coated bead panel enables the sensitive detection and quantification of glycan-specific antibodies of different isotypes across a variety of species on the IntelliFlex® platform.

Glycan-ELISA (96/384-well)

High-throughput glycan ELISAs in 96-well and 384-well formats enable the sensitive detection of glycan-specific IgG, IgM, and IgA antibodies in biological samples, including plasma, serum, and ascites. In addition, customized ELISA assays are developed and applied for the detection and quantification of specific glycan structures in cell culture supernatants.

Glyco-Phage Display

NGS-assisted phage display screening is used to identify glycan-mimicking peptides through selection with monoclonal anti-glycan antibodies. The platform combines random peptide libraries and custom-designed phage display libraries to enable both unbiased discovery and targeted screening of glycan mimotopes.

Automation of diagnostic assays generally aims to increase reproducibility and throughput while decreasing human errors and hands-on time. Here, we introduce a protocol for the automated chemical conjugation of glycans to color-coded magnetic beads using the KingFisher Flex magnetic particle processor. The resulting glycan-coupled magnetic beads allow the detection of anti-glycan antibodies of different isotypes from various species. By generating anti-glycan antibody profiles, monoclonal antibodies can be screened for their specificity and cross-reactivity, while anti-glycan antibody profiles from different human body fluids can aid in predicting response to treatment or outcome of disease. This efficient, scalable protocol can also be adapted to attach proteins and other biomolecules to beads, making it useful for a wider range of applications that require bead-based laboratory methods.