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What are Monoclonal Antibodies?

Monoclonal antibodies are proteins that have been cloned from a single parent cell. These identical immune cells exhibit what is known as monovalent affinity, which refers to the strength of interaction between an antibody and the epitope of a specific pathogen. It is possible to engineer monoclonal antibodies that recognize antigenic sites on numerous organic molecules including microbial antigens, hormones, and drugs of abuse.

This blog post will explore the production and applications of monoclonal antibodies in more detail.

How are Monoclonal Antibodies Synthesized?

Monoclonal antibodies are produced by unique hybrid cells grown in a liquid medium. These cells, known as hybridomas, are cultured by immunizing a live biological host with a specific antigen which prompts an immunological response. The body produces immunoglobulins which target antigenic molecules and bind to epitopes on the cell surface.

The affected tissue is removed from the body and the hybridoma are isolated in a solution that facilitates cell growth, resulting in the continuous production of identical antibodies in vitro.

The Applications of Monoclonal Antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies are routinely conjugated with proteins such as bovine serum albumin (BSA), Bacillus subtilis transglutaminase (BTG), and/or enzymes such as horseradish peroxidase (HRP). These chemical compounds display unmatched target specificity for detecting and quantitating antigen molecules in biological samples.

These conjugations are most commonly used for the setting of accurate biomarkers for analytical biochemistry, toxicology screening, therapeutic drug monitoring, and hormone detection.

Potential Applications of Monoclonal Antibodies

The outstanding target specificity of monoclonal antibodies and protein drug conjugates has been a cause for excitement in the immunochemistry industry for decades. With the ability to produce monoclonal antibodies that can bind to an antigenic site on almost any molecule. Radiolabelling of cancerous cells is an emerging application of cytotoxic drug treatment, supporting the production of improved anti-cancer treatment methods with enhanced locality.

Research into the potential applications of monoclonal antibodies is ongoing.

Drug Conjugates from Pyxis Labs

Pyxis Labs has extensive experience producing drug conjugates that can react with a broad range of monoclonal antibodies for research purposes. Our catalog includes:

  • Alcohol such as, ethyl glucuronide-BSA (EtG-BSA);
  • Amphetamines such as, Amphetamine-BSA, Methamphetamine-BSA, methcathinone-BSA, MDMA-BSA, MDPV-BSA, Mephedrone-BSA and Methylphenidate-BSA (Ritalin-BSA);
  • Benzodiazepines, such as Oxazepam-BSA and Clonazepam-BSA;
  • Cannabinoids such us, delta-8-THC-BSA, delta-9-THC-BSA; and synthetic cannabinoids such as, JWH-018-BSA, ABpinaca-BSA, UR144-BSA;
  • Cocaine, such as BZEG-BSA;
  • Hallucinogens/Anesthetics such as, Ketamine-BSA and PCP-BSA;
  • Nicotinic such as, Cotinine-BSA.
  • Opioids such as, Buprenorphine-BSA, Fentanyl-BSA, Methadone-BSA, Morphine-BSA, Oxycodone-BSA, Propoxyphene-BSA and others such as Chloramphenicol-BSA, Gabapentin-BSA and N-acetyl glucosamine-BSA (NAG-BSA)

If you would like any more information, read out previous blog post The Applications of Monoclonal Antibodies. Or, if you would like to talk about our hapten drug conjugates in more detail, feel free to contact us directly.