Antibody valitation: Practical guide to finding and validating suitable antibodies for research
2.F Accurately identify individual antibodies
There will frequently be multiple suppliers of the same reagent and thus a long list from a web search may represent only a small number of different antibodies.
- 1. Monoclonal antibodies: These can usually be distinguished by their clone name. Please note that abbreviations or changes to a clone name can, however, make this difficult, particularly when trying to trace prior data regarding antibody validation.
- 2. Polyclonal antibodies: Rarely have a unique identifier and the user should be aware that subsequent batches derived from different animals may not behave in the same way and need to be re-validated and optimised. Check for an identical immunogen and validation data images in product sheets to identify multiple suppliers of the same antibody. Sometimes researchers will include a product code in their materials and methods that can be used to identify polyclonal antibodies.
- Step 1: Define your initial requirements
- 1.A Identify the target antigen
- 1.B Define antibody requirements
- 1.C Decide on the experimental techniques you wish to use
- Example step 1
- Step2: Collect information and find existing antibodies
- 2.A Review the published peer-reviewed literature
- 2.B Find existing antibodies
- 2.C Review product information
- 2.D Match antibody data to existing information
- 2.E Study the individual company catalogues
- 2.F Accurately identify individual antibodies
- Example step 2
- Step 3: Assess existing validation data and decide whether further validation is necessary
- 3.A Reactivity with the target antigen
- 3.B Its suitability for use in your intended applications
- 3.C Decide whether further validation is necessary
- Example step 3
- Step 4: Reproducibility and dissemination of data
- Positive and negative controls for antibody validation
- Articles about antibody validation