Antibodies are versatile and powerful. As a lab-based researcher, you will probably use antibodies on a regular basis, as antibodies are an integral part of a scientist’s tool kit. Antibodies are utilised in molecular biology techniques such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and western blotting. Cell-based assays use neutralising antibodies to disrupt signalling pathways. Cytometry uses labelled antibodies as molecular probes. If your investigation involves an interaction, you will doubtless need an antibody.
The hunt for the right antibody can be an overwhelming task. The commercial market provides an embarrassment of riches. For example, searching Merck for an anti-His antibody returns 41 hits [1], whilst searching R&D systems for an anti-ACE2 antibody returns 14 products [2]. Which antibody is right for you? On what do you spend your hard-won grant money? Websites will provide you with helpful information such as;
whether or not the antibody is polyclonal or monoclonal
the application for which the antibody has been verified; ELISA, WB, IHC
antibody specificity and whether or not the antibody is neutralising
the target to which the antibody has been raised
All of this information can be pieced together so that you can whittle down the options to a more manageable number. After that, in most cases, it comes down to a suck it and see approach. You have to take the plunge and buy your best guess antibody, or maybe even your favourite two! This can be costly and time consuming. It can also lead to heartache, if the tool you chose eventually turns out not to be quite right for the job.
Wouldn’t it be good if you could design your own antibody so that it did exactly what you needed it to do? Here at Scotia Biologics, we believe in customer-focussed antibody design. Our experienced team of R&D scientists will accompany you all the way from epitope design through to monoclonal candidate antibody validation.
Let us help you generate the antibody you need to achieve your research goals.
References
1. Sigma-Aldrich; accessed 20200506 https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/search?term=anti-His+antibody&interface=All&N=0&mode=match%20partialmax&lang=en®ion=GB&focus=product
2. R&D Systems; accessed 20200506