Question

Antibodies are suitable for diagnostic tests, because Select one:

a. they can be used only for humans.

b. they can be readily purified.

c. they are found in very small quantities.

d. they bind very specifically to antigens with very high affinity.

e. they are found everywhere.

Answer 1

D. Antibodies are suitable for diagnostic tests because, they bind very specifically to antigens with very high affinity.

Antibodies are excellent biochemical tools in diagnostics. They have the tendency to bind to the specific epitope on an antigen. This makes antibodies a remarkable diagnostic tool. The antibody is synthesized for a particular antigen is first embedded in the test kit. Once the antigen in the test sample comes in contact it immediately gets bound to the antibody. This antigen antibody reaction is usually measured by the fluorescence produced in the reaction. Monoclonal antibodies which specifically bind only to one epitope are usually used in these tests.

Antibodies are not limited to humans. They can also be used to bind antigens or proteins in other animals. Most human antibodies are produced in other animals in the first place. Purification of antibodies is a tedious process that includes sophisticated downstream processing beginning from ammonium sulfate precipitation to chromatography techniques. Only low yield of antibodies can be efficiently purified for diagnostic purposes, although many techniques are adapted to increase productivity.