When someone mentions the word antibody, some people may know it is an immunology term, which is widely used in the biology and medical sciences. However, when someone mentions the word custom antibody, few people know it. You can look for the best service of custom antibodies production online.
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In this article, I will give a brief introduction to custom antibodies. In order to explain it clearly, I will give the definition of an antibody first.
1. What is an antibody?
An antibody is an immunoglobulin that is produced by a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell. It is a large, Y-shaped protein that the immune system uses to reply to antigens such as bacteria.
Each antibody contains a specific "paratope" which can mark the specific "epitope" on the antigen. Under this binding mechanism, an antibody can resist or neutralize its target by other parts of the immune system.
2. When was the antibody discovered?
The custom antibodies were first mentioned in researches carried by scientists in the early 1980s. In order to speed up to explain Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, John Gribbin and Jeremy Cherfas, editors of New Scientist Magazine, brought forward a revolutionary method to study human evolution.
They extracted a blood serum protein and injected it into a rabbit. The body of the rabbit recognized the foreign protein and produced antibodies – these antibodies were specific to individual proteins.
3. How can custom antibodies help scientists?
They helped scientists to produce specific antibodies to adopt specific conditions, and the degree of the reaction indicates the extent of the evolutionary relationship. This method can accelerate the speed of searching an evolutionary tree of living beings and manufacturing proteins to fight disease.
For example, if a patient was infected with a virus, his body will automatically produce an antibody. If the antibody is detected in time, doctors might be able to treat the patient and cure him before the virus spreads.