SouthernBiotech’s purified immunoglobulins are produced from normal serum, myeloma serum, and monoclonal cells lines. They are most commonly used as isotype controls / negative controls as well as positive controls / standards and blocking reagents in applications such as flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry / immunocytochemistry, ELISA, and immunoprecipitation.

Isotype controls are negative controls that help differentiate the level of non-specific background signal from the specific signal produced by the primary antibody. Typically, this background signal is caused by immunoglobulins binding non-specifically to Fc receptors on the cell surface; however, it can also be due to non-specific antibody interactions with cellular proteins, carbohydrates, or lipids as well as by cellular autoimmunofluorescence

Isotype controls are most commonly used in flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry / immunocytochemistry assays. They are typically normal serum- or myeloma-derived antibodies of an unknown specificity or raised against an antigen that is presumed to be absent in the sample being evaluated.

The most appropriate isotype control will match the following characteristics of the primary antibody -

Host species
Isotype
Conjugate/format

For example, if your primary antibody is a Mouse (IgG2a) Anti-Human XYZ-FITC, you will need a Mouse IgG2a-FITC isotype control.

It is typically recommended that the isotype control be used at the same concentration as the primary antibody.