Antibody conjugation kits

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.   

Download the application note to see the data on the consistent performance of the Lightning-Link kits®.

• Simple and consistent: Conjugate your antibody in three simple steps without the risk of antibody loss from a traditional, post-conjugation purification step.
• Quick and easy: Our conjugation kits only require 30 seconds of hands-on time so you can focus on your research. Watch our short protocol video to find out more.
• Choice and flexibility: Access a broad range of labels, from fluorescent dyes and enzymes to metal isotopes and gold nanoparticles. Ready to be used with our 13,000 conjugation-ready carrier-free antibodies, giving you the ultimate flexibility to design and complete your experiment. 
• Scalable and efficient: With kits that work with 10µg-100mg of antibody, achieve consistent conjugation whatever the scale of your experiment ​

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).

​​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. Learn more about the advantages of our antibody labeling kits.  

Here are some factors to consider when carrying out your conjugation: 

• Purification: only purified antibodies are suitable for conjugation (ie not crude serum or tissue culture supernatant)
• Buffer: certain buffer constituents are incompatible with the labeling reaction (see conjugation kit datasheet for details)
• Concentration: the antibody should be at least 1mg/mL concentration 

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. 

Lightning-Link® kits have been referenced by researchers in over 750 publications.

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). – kits are only recommended for single labelling.

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.