This article is part of the network’s archive of useful research information. This article is closed to new comments due to inactivity. We welcome new content which can be done by submitting an article for review or take part in discussions in an open topic or submit a blog post to take your discussions online.
With a global market of approximately $1.6 billion per year, antibodies and Ab-based assays (e.g., ELISA, immunohistochemistry) represent foremost tools in translational studies. The last decade has witnessed a boost in new biotech companies, which offer a wide variety of immunoassays for almost every analyte. In such a fast-paced, competitive environment, these new companies, instead of making their own antibodies and antigens, often obtain them from external suppliers and many times these reagents are sold without having been rigorously validated. Under these circumstances, it should not be surprising that the quality standards of many of the newly developed immunoassays could be severely compromised. Such products can lead to unfounded conclusions, waste of many months of research and publications that subsequently need to be retracted.
The June issue of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine addresses this problem in a very interesting editorial.
You can acces the full article here or download it by clicking in the link on the right.
-
harlan james
16 Feb 2016
Microfluidic techniques have the possibility to miniaturize and automate intricate laboratory processes. Immunoassays which are performed through the devices present at http://www.ilexmedical.com/products.php?id=19 are useful in quantifying molecules of biological interest according to the specification and selection of antibody reagents generated. It is generally performed to know the concentration of an analyte within a quantified sample. -
Karla Lam
25 Jun 2014
What are your views on this issue?
Have you had any problems in your laboratory because of non reliable antibodies or antibody based assays?
Do you agree more strict regulation of the antibody-based market should be put in place and that independent bodies for standardized antibody validation should be created? or do you think this would only slow the release of reagents and thus the research progress?