AltaBioscience provides a custom polyclonal antibody generation service which is UK Home Office compliant. All aspects of the service are undertaken by our UK laboratories.
Certified to ISO/IEC 9001:2015 standard, our UK-based laboratories provide polyclonal antibodies against a range of antigens. All our facilities are based in the UK, ensuring the highest level of animal welfare, with all aspects of the service managed locally resulting in fast and efficient processes. The antibody generation service provides polyclonal antibodies raised against peptides, proteins, live bacteria, viruses and a gene gun. Protein antigens can be sourced internally or supplied by you, or we can synthesise a peptide antigen to your design.
We offer a comprehensive production package or you can select only those elements of the service you require from the following:
- Assistance in the design of the antigen.
- Peptide antigen synthesis. This can be as an 8-branched MAPs peptide or peptide-protein conjugate.
- Custom immunisation in rabbit or sheep, ideal when large amounts of serum are need.
- Production of affinity columns for purification.
- Purification of the antibodies either by protein A, G or by an affinity column.
- ELISA testing of test bleeds against target.
Antibody generation process
The standard inoculation procedure for a polyclonal antibody in a rabbit involves 6 immunisations at 2 week intervals and 3 bleeds (with an additional pre-immune bleed). If required, this program can be modified and/or extended to fit the client’s specific need provided it complies with the license held by the animal facility. The standard program uses Freund’s Adjuvant but other adjuvants are available on request. Test bleeds are available for client assays after each bleed if required. The terminal serum is delivered at the end of the program either raw or purified.
When raising antibodies, the selection of animal depends on the amount of antibody needed and the characteristics of the antibodies being made. Larger mammals, such as sheep or goats, are often preferred as the amount of serum that can be collected is greater. If the phylogenetic relationship between the antigen donor and the antibody producer is distant, there is a greater potential for high titre antibody response.
Related articles
AltaBioscience – 50 years of Advancing Research in Life Science
This year, AltaBioscience celebrates its 50th anniversary. Originally founded in 1973, by Professor
John Fox and a team of protein scientists at the University of Birmingham, we take a look back over the last 50 years to see how we came to where we are today.
Meet us at the second annual Plant-Based Trends and Innovations Conference
We are pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at the 2nd annual Plant-based Trends and Innovations Conference – Vegan, Health, Natural, Clean, taking place on 8th February 2023 in Central London.
Influenza virus peptides
Although there are ways to combat influenza viruses, they have evolved to mutate frequently in order to evade the host’s immune system.