SACRI antibody services (SAS) has extensive experience developing polyclonal antibodies.  We offer comprehensive polyclonal antibody production packages beginning with a scientific consultation to assess our clients' requirements and a development plan is designed by our highly experienced immunochemists.

Standard 70 day rabbit protocol

SAS utilizes a standard 70 day protocol with one or more animals.  Polyclonal antibodies are produced by immunizing host animals against the antigen provided by our clients (peptide, fusion protein or recombinant protein), or by a custom peptide antigen conjugated to a carrier molecule (supply SAS with a peptide and we can perform a protein conjugation a carrier molecule).  Animals are given 4 subsequent boost injections to increase the success rate of the protocol.  Blood samples are collected at regular intervals and titre levels are tested using by ELISA. When the antibody titre reaches a maximal level a cardiac puncture is preformed.  All the serum is collected for a final purification procedure.

Animals can be kept for longer periods of time than the basic injection schedule at a fee. Contact us to design a customized protocol for your research needs.

SAS also provides a protein purification service to increase the concentration of antibodies in the delivered serum.

Quality control measures

Several quality control measures are available to ensure clients are supplied with only the highest quality antibodies including:

ELISA, SDS/PAGE, isoelectric focusing, HPLC, Western Blot

Additional functional tests can be performed upon the clients' request.

Pricing

Our standard polyclonal development procedure requires 2 months to complete.  Exact costs will depend upon the specific requirements of each client, including choice of host animal, the number of animals immunized and other variables.

Order polyclonal antibodies from SAS

Frequently asked questions - polyclonal antibodies

Q: What is the difference between monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies?

A: Monoclonal antibodies are produced from clones of a single hybridoma cell and as a result, recognize only a single epitope on the antigen and have a defined specificity.  Polyclonal antibodies recognize independent epitopes.

Q: What host animals are available?

A: SAS currently uses mice and rabbits [female New Zealand Whites (NZW)] as host animals for polyclonal antibody production, and will include rats, guinea pigs, chickens, and goats by December 2005.

Q: What type of antigens can be used?

A: Clients can provide proteins and haptens (either conjugated or unconjugated peptides).  The antigen can be provided lyophilized, in solution, or in an SDS/PAGE gel.

Q: How many animals are immunized?

A: The client decides the number of host animals required depending on the volume of antigenic serum require.  Typically, when mice are used as a host X-Y animals are used, whereas 1-3 rabbits is often sufficient.

Q: Are there any options if the standard protocol produces low titres?

A: If titres are insufficiently low, the standard protocol can be extended with additional antigen injections.  Contact us for specifics about our extra antigen boosting schedule.

Q: What are the yields of antisera for type of bleed in the different host animals?

A:

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Last modified: 09/15/05 00:00:00