Characterization of antibody-antigen interactions: comparison between surface plasmon resonance measurements and high-mass matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

The interaction between the bovine prion protein (bPrP) and a monoclonal antibody, 1E5, was studied with high-mass matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). In the case of MS a cross-linking stabilization was used prior to the analysis, whereas for SPR the antibody was immobilized and bPrP was injected. We compared the determination of parameters such as the epitope, the kinetics and binding strength, and the capacity of the antigen to bind two different antibodies. The two methods are highly complementary. SPR measurements require a lower amount of sample but are more time-consuming due to all of the necessary side steps (e.g., immobilization, regeneration). High-mass MALDI MS needs a higher overall amount of sample and cannot give direct access to the kinetic constants, but the analysis is faster and easier compared with SPR.