Research Progress in Conformational Epitope Mapping Approaches for Food Allergens

Conformational epitope is an important type of epitope and plays a critical role in allergy.Epitope mapping is the core of allergen research.Today,there are three main conformational epitope mapping approaches,including conformational epitope prediction based on the amino acid composition and characteristics of linear epitopes,epitope mapping by phage display technique and bioinformatics,and conformational epitope mapping by spectroscopic analysis and parameters related to coupling with antibodies.The first two approaches are commonly used in conformational epitope mapping.As a more accurate approach,spectroscopy has not been used in this field until recently.These approaches allow for a better knowledge and understanding of conformational epitopes in allergen research and also provide theoretical evidence for the mechanisms of action of conformational epitopes in allergy.