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Antibody Conjugation Services
Move quickly from idea to experiment with antibody conjugation services that are typically complete within
5 - 10 days.
Whether you need an alternative conjugate of a SouthernBiotech-manufactured antibody or a custom conjugation of your own antibody, our highly-experienced team will deliver reagents that drive your success.
Service Overview
SouthernBiotech has spent over 40 years providing antibody conjugation services to the academic, biopharma, and diagnostic communities. In that time, we have developed proprietary labeling and post-conjugation purification processes that maximize signal-to-noise ratios and deliver outstanding performance for a broad range of research techniques.
Advantages of working with SouthernBiotech
- Over 20 different fluorochrome and enzyme labeling options
- Expert consultation and technical support
- Scalable processes from milligrams to grams (typically 2 mg to > 1g)
- Post-conjugation purification techniques that maximize signal-to-noise ratios for more reliable results
- Optimized labeling ratios for maximum specific signal intensity
- Fast turnaround times - typically within 5 - 10 business days, although we also offer an express service (typically < 5 business days)
- Affordable pricing
- Flexibility – because SouthernBiotech is a small company, we are able to offer a more personalized antibody labeling service that is tailored to your specific requirements
Expert technical support
Customizable to suit your needs
100% in-house production
Custom Antibody Conjugation Process
Our custom antibody conjugation process is designed to be straightforward and hassle-free, allowing you to focus on your research. Simply select a SouthernBiotech-manufactured antibody, or send us your own antibody, and we’ll initiate your project. Because one of our highly-skilled team will serve as your dedicated product manager throughout the entire conjugation process, and beyond, you’ll receive regular updates and expert guidance to help with planning next steps.
Email [email protected] with your specific requirements.
A Project Manager will contact you within One (1) Business Day to finalize your quotation.
Provide your purchase order and ship your antibody. Once received, your antibody will be transferred to our conjugation department.
Our team will update you throughout the process followed by shipment of your conjugated antibody.
Available Conjugates
SouthernBiotech offers an extensive selection of antibody conjugates, including enzymes, biotin, Sepharose®, fluorescent proteins, and fluorescent dyes. We can label your antibody with any of the molecules listed below, as well as custom molecules, to meet the exacting needs of your research.
| Alexa Fluor® 488 (AF488) | 490 | 525 | Green |
| Alexa Fluor® 555 (AF555) | 555 | 580 | Orange |
| Alexa Fluor® 647 (AF647) | 650 | 665 | Red |
| Alexa Fluor® 700 (AF700) | 702 | 723 | Near IR |
| Allophycocyanin (APC) | 652 | 658 | Red |
| Allophycocyanin/Cyanine 5.5 (APC/CY5.5) | 652 | 700 | Near IR |
| Allophycocyanin/Cyanine 7 (APC/CY7) | 652 | 774 | Near IR |
| Cyanine 3 (CY3) | 550 | 570 | Orange |
| Cyanine 5 (CY5) | 650 | 670 | Red |
| Fluorescein Isothiocyanate (FITC) | 492 | 518 | Green |
| Pacific Blue™ (PACBLU) | 410 | 455 | Blue |
| R-Phycoerythrin (PE) | 566 (496) | 575 | Orange |
| R-Phycoerythrin/Cyanine 5.5 (PE/CY5.5) | 566 (496) | 690 | Red |
| R-Phycoerythrin/Cyanine 7 (PE/CY7) | 566 (496) | 774 | Near IR |
| R-Phycoerythrin/Texas Red® (PE/TXRD) | 566 (496) | 615 | Red |
| Spectral Red® (PE/CY5) | 566 (496) | 670 | Red |
| Tetramethylrhodamine Isothiocyanate (TRITC) | 555 | 580 | Orange |
| Texas Red® (TXRD) | 595 | 615 | Red |
Non-Fluorescent Conjugates
- Alkaline Phosphatase (AP)
- β-galactosidase (BGAL)
- Biotin (BIOT)
- Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP)
- Sepharose® (SEPH)
Applications for conjugated antibodies
Depending on the chosen label, conjugated antibodies have applicability for many different research techniques.
- Enzymes such as horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) are widely used for ELISA, Western blot, microscopy, and ELISpot, while β-galactosidase (BGAL) is generally reserved for ELISA and microscopy-based research.
- Fluorescent proteins like allophycocyanin (APC) and R-Phycoerythrin (PE) are especially popular for flow cytometry, both due to their brightness and their capacity to increase spectral separation when used as the donor molecules in tandem dyes (e.g., APC/Cy7 and PE/Cy5.5).
- Fluorescent dyes such as Cyanine 3 (CY3), Cyanine 5 (CY5), Fluorescein Isothiocyanate (FITC), Pacific Blue™ (PACBLU), Tetramethylrhodamine Isothiocyanate (TRITC), Texas Red® (TXRD) and the Alexa Fluor® dyes (e.g., AF488, AF555, AF647, and AF700) have broad utility for flow cytometry and microscopy applications.
- Sepharose is predominantly used for immunoprecipitation (IP), where it enables a target analyte to be extracted from solution by centrifugation.
- Biotin has utility for applications including ELISA, flow cytometry, microscopy, Western blot, ELISpot, and immunoprecipitation, as well as can offer increased flexibility for multiplexed experiments; it can also provide signal amplification, such as through the avidin-biotin complex (ABC) detection method used during IHC.
Reasons to outsource custom antibody conjugation
Although it is possible to perform antibody labeling in-house with a do-it-yourself (DIY) conjugation kit, researchers should be aware that such products can vary in terms of protocol complexity and may not be compatible with every antibody reagent. Custom antibody conjugation provides a means of avoiding common pitfalls associated with DIY conjugation kits, such as low yields and hidden costs, and offers advantages that include the following:
- Superior conjugate quality – custom antibody conjugation service providers, such as SouthernBiotech, routinely employ post-conjugation purification techniques to ensure that traces of free label and unconjugated antibody are removed.
- Better reproducibility – DIY conjugation kits cannot always be guaranteed to provide a consistent product, often due to the lack of an integrated purification step, which makes determining the conjugation efficiency challenging.
- No hidden costs – antibodies may need to be concentrated or subjected to a buffer exchange before they can be labeled with a DIY conjugation kit, which can incur additional expense and result in antibody loss.
- Time savings – choosing a custom antibody conjugation service frees up researchers’ time to be spent on other tasks.
FAQs
We typically recommend starting with ≥ 2 mg; however, depending on the conjugate, we may be able accommodate smaller quantities.
The minimum concentration required will be dependent on the conjugate; however, we do offer custom concentration services, if required.
Antibodies should be supplied in a neutral buffer (e.g., PBS) with no stabilizers (e.g., BSA, glycerol, sucrose), preservatives (e.g., sodium azide, thimerosal), amine containing buffer salts (e.g., histidine), etc. If needed, we offer custom buffer exchange services.
We need to know:
- What conjugation is to be performed
- The amount (mg) of antibody to be conjugated
- The concentration at which the antibody will be supplied
- The composition of the antibody buffer
- The molecular weight of the antibody
- The extinction coefficient of the antibody
Most custom conjugated antibodies are available for shipment within 5 - 10 business days following our receipt of your antibody and purchase order, although we also offer an express service (typically < 5 business days).
Initiate a Custom Service Project
Proven expertise, outstanding service, and responsive customer support are just a few of the reasons why scientists continue to turn to SouthernBiotech for antibody conjugation services.
Start an antibody conjugation project with us and experience the SouthernBiotech difference for yourself.
