In the not-too-distant past, scientists in biological research found themselves burdened with the time-consuming tasks of developing, purifying, and characterizing the antibodies they worked with in the lab. But today monoclonal antibody technology has eased this burden by facilitating the production and enhancing the quality of antibodies currently in use.
Development of the advanced technology is especially welcome, since during the last decade the use of antibodies as a tool in basic and clinical research has grown significantly. Researchers in cell biology, immunology, pathology, and biochemistry all use polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies these days in a variety of ways: determining antigen presence in crude and/or purified preparations; distinguishing protein isotypes; immuno-localization; aflinity purification schemes; and identification and isolation of specific cell types via fluorescent cell sorting.
The production of high-quality primary and secondary antibody probes by biotechnology firms, coupled with improved methods that employ such probes make it easier for ...
