In: Anatomy and Physiology
A company is trying to develop a diagnostic kit to identify an organism using antibodies raised against a small yet highly specific aromatic compound found only on the surface of that organism. Injecting the small compound in laboratory animals does not generate an immune response to it , so the company decides to mix it with Freund’s adjuvant (a powerful adjuvant) before administering to animals. Yet even with the use of such a powerful adjuvant, no antibody response to the compound is obtained.
For the diagnostic kit, the company decided to mix the compound with complete Freund’s adjuvant but still got no antibody response. What do you think the reason is? What would you do to improve antibody responses to begin with?