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Get the flexibility you need with our quick and easy-to-use conjugation kits for over 45 labels.
Conjugating primary antibodies can lead to antibody loss and take up valuable lab time. Our innovative Lightning-Link® labeling technology enables the direct labeling of antibodies or proteins, providing a straightforward solution to traditional conjugation issues and delivering efficiency from discovery to development.
Simply pipette your antibody or biomolecule of choice into the vial of a lyophilized mixture containing the label of interest and incubate for just 15 minutes (Lightning-Link® Fast range) or around 3 hours (Lightning-Link® range).
Figure 1. Diagram illustrating the simple Lightning-Link® protocol
Despite its simple protocol, the Lightning-Link® process quickly generates reproducible conjugates with no loss of antibody, saving you valuable time and resources. It can also be used to conjugate other proteins or peptides.
Read our guide to labeling non-antibody proteins and small molecules.
Here are some factors to consider when carrying out your conjugation:
If your antibody does not meet these requirements, you can easily purify or concentrate your antibody using our purification and concentration kits.
We have over 13,000 carrier-free antibodies specifically designed for antibody labeling. Carrier-free antibodies are conjugation-ready and there is no need to perform buffer exchange or concentration. Simply add the antibody directly into the conjugation reaction.
If you’ve got any questions about our kits or conjugated antibodies, or you’d like to know about our custom conjugation solutions, we’d love to hear from you – get in touch.
Lightning-Link® kits have been referenced by researchers in over 750 publications.
"The R-Phycoerythrin conjugation kit was extremely easy to use and effective despite the very small amount of antibody labeled (60µg). "
Researcher review for ab102918 R-PE conjugation kit"Improved staining for mouse-on-mouse immunofluorescence... Mouse Anti-CCX4 (ab27591) labeled with Dylight 550 Fast Conjugation Kit (ab201800)"
Researcher review for ab201800 Dylight 550 Conjugation Kit"The kit work[ed] fantastically with some store bought, pure, concentrated antibody! It actually gave better results than our previous method of using a conjugated secondary antibody when used in Flow Cytometry after doing an Intracellular Stain."
Researcher review for ab102884 FITC Conjugation Kit
Explore the full Lightning-Link® range to create your conjugate
See the full range of antibody conjugation kits
How does Lightning-Link® conjugation work?
The labeling chemistry targets primary amines present in lysines and at the N-terminus of a protein. All antibodies have multiple free amine groups and most proteins have lysine and/or alpha-amino groups. The antibody or biomolecule simply needs to be pipetted into a vial of lyophilized mixture containing the label of interest, and incubated for around three hours (Lightning-Link® range) or 15 minutes (Lightning-Link® Fast range).
Despite the apparent simplicity of its protocol, the Lightning-Link® Conjugation process is sophisticated and quickly generates reproducible conjugates with no loss of antibody, saving you valuable time and resources.
What recovery can be expected?
With Lightning-Link® Conjugation Kits, the entire antibody labeling reaction is contained within one tube and there are no separation steps involved. This means that 100% of antibody is retained at the end of the conjugation process. The conjugation process does not trigger antibody aggregation, and it is carried out at a physiological pH. Once the reaction is complete, you can usually use the conjugated antibody straight away without further purification steps.
Can I conjugate the same antibody with two different Lightning-Link® labels?
No. Lightning-Link® Conjugation Kits are designed for labeling antibodies with one type of label (single labeling). All kits target the same chemical groups on the antibody (free amines). Therefore, in a double-labeling experiment, the two different labels would compete for the same sites. We cannot guarantee the success of this kind of experiment.
What is the best way to check conjugation success?
Our range of conjugation check kits allows you to confirm the conjugation of an antibody in one easy step, without the need for any specialized or costly equipment. Please note that these kits are only suitable for the qualitative verification of IgG antibodies. Alternatively, you can test conjugation success using a preliminary experiment in the application of interest.
How do I filter out the free label from the conjugated antibody?
Lightning-Link® conjugation kits are designed to give a low level of free label at the end of the reaction. Thus, no filtration steps are required. Any remaining free label would have its reactive groups blocked by the Quencher provided in the kit, and would then be washed away during the relevant wash step of your application.
Fluorescent dyes / proteins
Biotin / Streptavidin
Oligonucleotides