Custom antibodies

We offer a custom antibody service.  Please bear the following in mind when considering your antibody requirements.  We will be pleased to discuss your project in confidence with you at any time.

Peptide Antigen Selection

Peptide antigens must be carefully selected to offer the best chance of raising antibodies which will recognise the target protein whilst avoiding cross-reactivity with proteins containing potentially homologous protein sequences.  Isca Biochemicals produces high quality, fully characterised peptides for antibody production.

Synthesis and Conjugation

Synthetic peptides are generally too small to trigger an immune response, so peptide antigens must be conjugated to a carrier protein before they are used in immunisation.  Careful attention to conjugation chemistry is required to present the peptide appropriately.

Carrier proteins

KLH, OVA, BSA and TGB are regularly employed to conjugate synthetic peptides via a range of chemistries.  A cysteine can be routinely added to either the N-terminus or C-terminus of the peptide to allowan MBS-mediated optimised coupling procedure.  Typically produced in rabbits, goat or hen, polyclonal immune serum contains a pool of antibodies with a variety of chemicals and physical properties enabling recognition of multiple epitopes of the immunised antigen.  Polyclonal antibodies will exhibit batch to batch variability between animals.

Monoclonal Antibody Production

Monoclonal antibodies are typically produced from a single B-cell of immunised mice.  By fusion of the B-cell and a myeloma cell, a hybridoma cell line is produced which produces a single antibody conformation recognising a single protein epitope.  Monoclonal antibodies are highly homogeneous, typically exhibiting much lower cross reactivity than polyclonal antibodies and are much more amenable to large-scale synthesis for use in diagnostic kits.  Monoclonal antibodies are the preferred choice for quantitative applications.

Please contact us with your requirements - we look forward to hearing from you