Antibodies serve essential functions in both physiological immune responses and in research, where each isotype plays a distinct role in immunity and scientific discovery.

In biological research, primary antibodies are essential tools for detecting and quantifying specific antigens across a wide variety of samples. Secondary antibodies allow for the detection of primary antibodies that specifically bind to the target protein.

At Abcam, we provide an extensive range of antibody solutions to meet your research needs. Our polyclonal antibodies offer broader epitope coverage, while our monoclonal antibodies deliver excellent specificity and sensitivity. Our recombinant monoclonal antibodies build upon our monoclonal antibodies by offering a constant supply with no batch-to-batch variability, ensuring confidence in your results. We also offer multiclonal antibodies, which combine the broad epitope coverage of our polyclonal antibodies with the sensitivity, specificity, and consistency of our recombinant monoclonal antibodies, as well as chimeras, which provide unparalleled flexibility and an additional level of experimental control.

Our extensive catalog includes both primary and secondary antibodies, available in conjugated forms with various tags, dyes, fluorophores, or other conjugates, as well as unconjugated and carrier-free options. Our recombinant monoclonal antibodies undergo rigorous testing in numerous disease tissue types as well as with overexpression and knock-out cell lines to ensure specificity. They are validated across a wide range of applications, including western blot, flow cytometry, ELISA, immunohistochemistry, immunocytochemistry, and more, serving over 70 different applications. Additionally, we offer custom antibody solutions and conjugation kits so you can always find the perfect antibody solution for your research.

FEATURES

Key features of antibodies used for research

• Clonality: Antibodies can be polyclonal, derived from multiple B cells, or monoclonal, originating from a single B cell clone. Each offers distinct advantages for specificity and application needs.
• Recombinant production: Recombinant antibodies are engineered in vitro using genes extracted from hybridomas, ensuring long-term supply, minimal batch-to-batch variability, and a constant supply.
• Specificity: This refers to the antibody’s ability to bind specifically to the target of interest, with minimal to no non-specific binding with other antigens. The specificity of our antibodies recombinant monoclonal antibodies is validated using knock-out and overexpression cell lines. Improving the specificity of antibodies ensures precise targeting of your target of interest, improving detection at low expression levels and minimizing cross-reactivity.
• Validation: Our antibodies undergo rigorous validation across several applications (eg, western blot, IHC, and ICC, among others) and in samples from various species and disease types to ensure accuracy and reliability in experimental setups.
• Scalability: Recombinant monoclonal antibodies can be produced at any scale, making them ideal for long-term studies and for obtaining reproducible results across multiple batches.
• Host species: Antibodies are raised in specific host species, such as in rabbits or mice, different from the sample species, to minimize cross-reactivity with the sample species.
• Versatility: Our antibodies are available in various formats and conjugations (eg, fluorescent dyes and tags); thus, our antibodies are suitable for a range of experimental applications.

APPLICATIONS

Research-grade antibodies are essential detection tools for scientists. For example, a researcher investigating cellular dysfunction can use antibodies to target and identify specific proteins present within a diseased cell at a particular stage of its life cycle. Antibodies are commonly employed in the following techniques:

• Western blotting: Antibodies are used in western blotting to specifically bind and detect target proteins separated by gel electrophoresis, enabling their identification and quantification. Frequently, tagged secondary antibodies are also used to amplify the signal and allow visualization of the signal.
• Immunohistochemistry: In immunohistochemistry, antibodies are applied to tissue sections to visualize the localization and distribution of specific proteins within the tissue using enzymatic detection or fluorescent markers. It is important to use antibodies that recognize your target in the species your tissue was obtained from and to use secondary antibodies that do not cross-react with epitopes in the tissue.
• ELISA: Antibodies in ELISA are used to capture and detect the presence of specific antigens or antibodies in a sample, often for diagnostic or quantitative purposes. When using a pair of antibodies (capture and detection), you should ensure that the antibodies recognize different epitopes in your target protein and show specificity for the target.
• Flow cytometry: Antibodies in flow cytometry are frequently tagged with fluorescent markers and used to analyze and quantify specific proteins or cell surface markers in a cell population.
• Immunoprecipitation: Antibodies are employed in immunoprecipitation to selectively bind and isolate a specific protein or protein complex from a mixture, facilitating its analysis.
• Multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC): Several antibodies are used in succession to allow simultaneous detection of multiple antigens in a single tissue sample, enabling comprehensive biomarker profiling.
• IHC on paraffin-embedded tissue (IHC-P): Antibodies bind to specific antigens in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections to allow visualization of protein expression patterns for diagnostic or research purposes.
• Immunocytochemistry/Immunofluorescence (ICC/IF): Antibodies label specific proteins within cells, allowing for the study of their localization and visualization under a fluorescence microscope.

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