Immunotechnologies

Immunotechnology is a field of biotechnology that applies knowledge of basic immunology to develop technological methods for therapeutic, diagnostic, or analytical purposes. This course unit will help students understand that immunotechnology can be used at various stages of the biomanufacturing process for a biopharmaceutical, from the research and development stage through to quality control. 

The main objectives of this learning unit are to:  

-Review basic knowledge of fundamental immunology in order to understand the structure and functions of antibodies, as well as the immunogenicity of biologics. 

-Describe the biotechnological tools used to generate and screen monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies  

-Describe analytical methods for characterizing antibodies (identity, function)  

This course unit will cover several topics through theoretical instruction: 

The Immune System 

The Antigen-Antibody Reaction 

Epitope Analysis 

Antibody Engineering  

Analytical Methods  

This course unit includes lectures, a tutorial, and lab sessions that allow students to apply the immunological techniques taught in this course unit.

Basic Immunology and Cell Biology

Assessment is based on a comprehensive continuous assessment system (CCI) that combines the grades from continuous assessments on the theoretical portion with the grades from practical assignments.  

Competencies targeted by the EU: 

- Understanding of the principles behind each method used to analyze therapeutic antibodies  

- Knowledge of monoclonal antibodies (format, mechanism, therapeutic applications) and various production strategies  

- Establishing and optimizing experimental protocols (ELISA, Western blot, immunofluorescence, flow cytometry) 

- Interpretation of analytical results obtained using an analytical method