Published on September 13th, 2018 | by Sunit Nandi

What Is Antibody Sequencing and How Does It Work?

Running a business is not an easy feat. You have to accomplish several tasks – usually all at the same time – and wear different hats just so your business can stay afloat. This challenge becomes tougher if your business is operating within the diagnostic, research, or therapeutic industries. Since your business involves the human body, it’s vital that you provide accurate results with your outputs. One mistake can be fatal, which can snowball into bigger problems over time. Your business and brand can be adversely affected when unfortunate situations like these happen. If you want to steer away from this direction, consider using antibody sequencing for your business.

Simply put, antibody sequencing is the process that defines the sequence of amino acids from an unknown or unidentified antibody. This process can be made possible even without knowing the DNA sequence of the antibody or having the cell lines available – all thanks to the use of mass spectrometry. Depending on the service provider you’re going to hire for your antibody sequencing needs, the process usually works this way:

You will be required to provide your antibody sample. Generally, you need to submit at least 0.2 mg of a monoclonal antibody with at least 95% purity.
A courier will carry the sample to the lab of the service provider.
This sample will be forwarded to the lab for analysis. Companies that offer antibody sequencing services use their own software and employ experts to complete the job. During this phase, several antibody sequencing techniques are used, namely, hybridoma sequencing, Edman sequencing, and intact mass analysis and peptide mapping.
After the analysis of the sample, you’ll be provided with a detailed report that includes the complete sequence of heavy- and light-chain amino acids. This report also contains necessary data that can supplement the results of the analysis and other essential observations, for example, unexpected changes of the antibody.
Antibody sequencing services will require at least a week from the receipt of the sample to complete the testing phase. Some service providers can provide faster results, but this will require additional costs from you.

What Benefits Can a Business Get from Antibody Sequencing?

As mentioned, antibody sequencing can be beneficial for businesses that are operating in specific industries. These benefits can drastically improve a business’s operations especially when it’s still new or young. To drive the point home, here are some of the benefits from antibody sequencing:

Reproduction of an antibody even in the absence of a producer cell: Hybridoma is necessary for the production of antibodies. But because of the advent of technology, antibody sequencing can still be carried out even without the presence of hybridoma.
Unsurpassed accuracy: All of the processes involved in antibody sequencing are designed to provide accurate results. As an example, each amino acid is identified in the sequence.
Range of antibodies: Antibody sequencing can be used in a wide variety of antibodies. Whether you are using antibody samples from animal species or the human body, antibody sequencing can provide you the results you need.
Pursuit of perfection: The goal of the technology used in antibody sequencing is for mass spectrometric protein sequencing to become flawless over time. This is the reason why many antibody sequencing services exhaust time and effort to create processes, workflows, and software just to achieve such goal.

Ask the Pros for Help

Although antibody sequencing might seem like a new technology, it doesn’t diminish the fact that this can provide a long list of benefits to a lot of businesses. Using this process can improve your business’s brand while increasing your customer base. If you think antibody sequencing is apt for your business’s needs, start scouting for companies that offer quality service. Make sure that you only work with reputable companies so you can attain the results you expect!

Tags: antibody, how does, sequencing, work

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.