Polyclonal Antibody Production

Aurora Biomolecules dedicates to peptide synthesis (and polyclonal antibody production) for any small quantity purpose. FMOC chemistry (on Perceptive Biosystems Pioneer instruments) is used for peptides synthesis Online monitoring of the coupling efficiencies and HATU activation helps insure that the major component of the synthesis is the correct oligopeptide. Purification is firstly carried out by size exclusion chromatography, and then by HPLC on a PE vision purification workstation. Typically, 20 mg of pure peptide are obtained. The molecular weight of the purified peptide is determined as a final confirmation of quality. 

Generation of antibodies that can recognize and bind to specific viruses is straightforward. A sample of live or attenuated virus, or a purified component of the viral caspid, can be injected into animals to stimulate polyclonal antibody production (or to facilitate monoclonal antibody production by hybridoma technology). Harvested antibodies are then employed to develop specific immunoassays that can be used to screen test samples routinely for the presence of that specific virus. Immunoassays capable of detecting a wide range of viruses are available commercially. The sensitivity, ease, speed and relative inexpensiveness of these assays render them particularly attractive. 

Monoclonal antibodies have the advantage of lot-to-lot consistency and lack the inherent variability of polyclonal antibodies due to the immunological state of the animal. The use of a hybridoma in monoclonal antibody production enables a sustained production of antibody and is not dependent on the life of the animal as with polyclonal antibody production. 

Polyclonal antibody production requires the use of relatively large quantities of pure antigen for immunization. Remember that the goal of polyclonal antibody production is to increase the relative con-... 

All of the processes and considerations described for polyclonal antibody production are also relevant to monoclonal antibody production. The only variation between the two, with respect to the the immunization process, is species selection. Monoclonal antibodies are most commonly produced in mice because of the commercial availability of mouse myeloma cells that are particularly suited as partner cells in hybridoma preparation (discussed below). 

Polyclonal antibody production is the most primitive method and has several significant limitations (6). This method inherently yields a complex mixture of antibody molecules from the immune response after hapten hypeiimmunization with no attempt to purify specific IgG molecules. Efficiency and cost-effectiveness are hallmarks of polyclonal antibody production however, accurate characterization of this mixture is difficult. Furthermore, X-ray crystallography to examine structure-function relationships and affiiuty maturation to optimize the antibody is impossible with the polyclonal antibody method. 

A number of immune responses including polyclonal antibody production, T-cell responses such as antigen and alloantigen-induced proliferation and cell-mediated... 

Polyclonal antibody production involves the repeated immunization of an animal with a desired antigen. Animals such as rabbits, goats, and sheep are generally used for polyclonal antibody production, as they are relatively easy to handle for immunization and bleeding purposes. When a sufficient titer (antibody concentration) is obtained, the animal is bled and the antibodies are purified from the serum. Polyclonal antibodies can be produced quickly and relatively cheaply and do not require the same amount of expertise or time as monoclonal antibody production. They can also be very specific and high concentrations can be purified from relatively small amounts of serum. However, polyclonal antiserum contains a heterogeneous population of antibodies, which can be hard to reproduce in subsequent immunizations. Unlike monoclonal antibody production, a consistent source of antibodies cannot be generated. 

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