Rabbit polyclonal antibodies are highly sensitive and can detect a broad range of epitopes, making them especially useful for spotting low-abundance proteins or working with complex samples. Rabbit polyclonal antibodies are commonly used in a wide range of applications including immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunocytochemistry (ICC/IF), western blotting, ELISA and flow cytometry.

Benefits of using rabbit polyclonal antibodies

• High sensitivity: Rabbits have a strong immune response, which typically generates antibodies with higher affinity compared to those produced in other mammals. This makes them ideal for detecting low-abundance proteins and subtle expression changes.
• Broad epitope recognition: Due to their polyclonal nature, these antibodies can recognize multiple epitopes on any one antigen, making them highly effective in detecting proteins that may undergo post-translational modifications.
• Detecting protein family members: These antibodies can sometimes cross-react with other related proteins due to their ability to recognize multiple epitopes, which can be helpful when wanting to detect all family members to a target.
• Range of applications: Each batch is tested to ensure specificity and consistency between lots. This information can be found in our reactivity data table on our product datasheets.
• Highly cited: Rabbit polyclonal antibodies have been commercially available for decades and have many publications to their name. This makes them a great option for scientists looking for an antibody with many different working protocols available.

Limitations of rabbit polyclonal antibodies

• Batch-to-batch variability: Each new batch is derived from the serum of different animals meaning that the exact mix of antibodies may differ, leading to unreproducible results and variability if the new batch is not properly validated.
• High background: Polyclonal antibodies may consist of a mixture of specific and non-specific antibodies. If there are lots of non-specific antibodies present, these will cross-react with other proteins and generate background signal.

Chicken polyclonal antibodies are useful when you want to reduce your background noise when working on human, mouse or rat samples as they do not bind to mammalian Fc receptors. Chicken polyclonal antibodies can be used in a wide range of applications including immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunocytochemistry (ICC/IF), western blotting, ELISA and flow cytometry.

 
Benefits of using chicken polyclonal antibodies

Reduced cross-reactivity

Chicken IgY does not bind to mammalian Fc receptors. This means background staining is reduced in commonly used human, mouse, and rat samples.

Use in multiplexing

Chicken polyclonal antibodies can be combined with rabbit, mouse, or goat antibodies. This makes multicolor staining easier and more reliable.

Broad epitope recognition

Because they are polyclonal, these antibodies recognize multiple epitopes on a single antigen. This is especially useful for detecting proteins that undergo post-translational modifications or are present in low abundance.

Detecting protein family members

Their ability to bind multiple epitopes can help identify related proteins within the same family, which is valuable when studying complex pathways.

Wide range of applications

Chicken polyclonal antibodies are tested for specificity and consistency across batches. You can find detailed reactivity data in our product datasheets.

Limitations of chicken polyclonal antibodies

Batch-to-batch variability

Each batch comes from different animals, so the antibody mix can vary. Without proper validation, this may lead to inconsistent results. For example, researchers have reported variability in western blot sensitivity when switching batches.

Potential for high background

Polyclonal antibodies include both specific and non-specific antibodies. If non-specific antibodies dominate, they can cross-react with unrelated proteins and increase background signal. This is particularly noticeable in complex tissue samples.