The mammalian immune system protects, amongst others, against invading pathogens and consists of an innate and adaptive component. The innate system is the first line of defense in which pattern... Show moreThe mammalian immune system protects, amongst others, against invading pathogens and consists of an innate and adaptive component. The innate system is the first line of defense in which pattern recognition receptors, like TLR2, NOD1 and NOD2 receptors, detect pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPS) that are specific for pathogens. PAMPs exhibit a broad structural variety and the exact molecular structures of ligands that bind to the corresponding PRRs are mostly unknown. The research presented in this Thesis is directed to the design, synthesis and immunological evaluation of new NOD1, NOD2 and TLR2 ligands as well as conjugates in which these ligands are covalently bound to an antigenic OVA-derived peptide. The designed NLR and TLR ligand-antigen conjugates contribute to the insight of the processes of the mammalian immune system at molecular level. Further elucidation of pattern recognition receptor acti vation and antigen presentation with these conjugates may eventually result in synthetic vaccine modalities. Show less