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See how you can achieve the reproducible results your project demands with recombinant monoclonal antibodies
Updated March 18th, 2022
Recombinant manufacture involves cloning antibody-coding genes into high-yield expression vectors, which are subsequently introduced into expression hosts.
A recombinant monoclonal antibody consists of identical antibody chains that target the same epitope, which increases reproducibility and provides you with benefits including a guaranteed supply, improved sensitivity, and confirmed specificity.
Recombinantly manufactured antibodies overcome the limitations of other methods of antibody manufacture, such as genetic drift, which can lead to slight variations in the antibody produced. Antibodies against difficult targets, ie, toxins, nucleotides, and membrane-bound proteins, can’t always be made with this in vivo model either. Using recombinantly manufactured antibodies gives you:
Recombinant antibody production is controlled and reliable using a unique set of genes. This leads to antibodies with high batch-to-batch consistency, meaning you can achieve the highly reproducible results your research or drug development research requires.
Figure 1. Batch-to-batch reproducibility in the localization of PD-L1 in FFPE human placenta across five batches of our anti-PD-L1 [28-8] recombinant rabbit monoclonal antibody (ab205921). IHC was performed manually using a Biocare Decloaking Device and Universal HIER antigen retrieval reagent (ab208572). The primary antibody was incubated overnight at 4°C, followed by goat anti-rabbit secondary antibody and HRP-linked anti-goat polymer antibody (ab209101). DAB was used as a chromogen with a Hematoxylin counterstain.
KD value is a quantitative measure of antibody affinity. The lower the KD value, the higher the affinity of the antibody. Analysis of KD values of our recombinant anti-PDL1 antibody shows that its affinity remains high across five different batches (Table 1).
Table 1. Analysis of KD values for five different batches of our recombinant anti-PD-L1 antibody [28-8] (ab205921). To learn more about KD value, check out our KD guide.
Antibody | KD (M) |
PD-L1_batch 1 | 4.74E-11 |
PD-L1_batch 2 | 3.83E-11 |
PD-L1_batch 3 | 2.04E-11 |
PD-L1_batch 4 | 2.40E-11 |
PD-L1_batch 5 | 2.13E-11 |
Because the selection process for the desired clone occurs at both the hybridoma and recombinant cloning stages, we can select antibodies with the most favorable qualities for you. In addition, to give you added confidence in your results, we use extensive validation methods, including knock-out validation, to ensure the specificity of our recombinant antibodies.
On average, our recombinant RabMab antibodies have KD values in the picomolar (10-10–10-12) range, which is considered to be a very high affinity. High-affinity antibodies allow greater sensitivity in assays, as they bind strongly to the antigen and maintain this bond better under difficult conditions compared to low-affinity antibodies.
The following examples demonstrate the differences in specificity between recombinant antibodies and other antibody types.
Figure 2. Our recombinant anti-TLE 1 antibody [EPR9386(2)] (left) being tested on knock-out and wild-type samples against a monoclonal anti-TLE 1 [OTI1F5] antibody.
Figure 3. Our recombinant anti-GRIM19 [EPR4471(2)] antibody (left) being tested on knock-out and wild-type samples against our monoclonal anti-GRIM19 [6E1BH7] antibody.
Recombinant manufacture relies on cloning antibody genes into expression vectors. This means antibody expression can be carried out at any scale with guaranteed long-term supply giving you added peace of mind and continuity for projects of all sizes, making recombinant antibodies a great solution for long-term studies, or using the same antibody across multiple samples.
Once the antibody-producing genes are isolated, high-throughput in vitro manufacture can be implemented. For antibodies generated using our phage display technology, even the gene of the antibody can be isolated with an animal-free procedure.
Watch our video to hear from your fellow researchers on why they love our recombinant antibodies.
To find out more about what makes recombinantly manufactured antibodies different and how they can benefit your research, watch the short video below:
Find recombinant antibodies to key targets for your research area with our search filters:
1. Click here to view all recombinant antibodies
2. Scroll down until you see the 'Research areas' filter on the left-hand side
3. Choose your research area of interest from the list to find highly validated recombinant antibodies to your key targets