About research-grade antibodies
What is a "research-grade" antibody?
Antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system in response to the introduction of a foreign body (known as an antigen). Antibodies have a variety of uses - in basic research, diagnostic tests and therapeutics. Abcam only deals with antibodies that are intended for basic research (hence research-grade), which means we operate in a relatively benign regulatory environment.
What are research-grade antibodies used for?
Research-grade antibodies are used as fundamental detection tools by bio-scientists. For example, a researcher trying to understand how a cell function works normally or has gone wrong in a diseased cell can use antibodies to mark and identify specific proteins (referred to as the target protein for the antibody) that are present within the cell at a particular phase of its development.
This evidence is used to develop a theory for how the cell functions and correspondingly how a diseased cell malfunctions, which is the first step in targeted development of a treatment or cure for the disease.
As a practical illustration of this here is an image of one of our antibodies being used to visualise cell structure.
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Immunofluorescent imaging of human cells (U2OS) with Abcam alpha tubulin antibody ab7291 reveals a delicate network of alpha-tubulin (green) located exclusively in the cytoplasm. The nucleus is stained blue. |
How many of these antibodies are there?
Theoretical understanding of both healthy and diseased cell mechanisms is developing at a rapid rate - fuelled in part by the information provided from basic research like the human genome project. There are hundreds of thousands of proteins, and hence hundreds of thousands of antibodies, that may be of interest to the bio-science researcher and each piece of new research leads to demand for new antibodies to be produced.
What about the other products you sell?
Abcam's focus is on the research-grade antibody market, but we also sell associated reagents and products that the bio-science researcher will need to conduct their research.
Can your antibodies be used for diagnostics / therapeutics?
The antibodies that we produce are intended for research only and have not been subject to any of the regulatory controls that are necessary for diagnostic or therapeutic use.
Products
We manufacture our own products in two specialist facilities, as well as sourcing from over 300 partners. This way we are able to offer scientists the newest and best research tools available globally regardless of source.
Customers
Our customers are research scientists who need high performance products with detailed technical specifications. Our information-rich products, together with expert customer support and fast delivery makes us the researcher’s choice.
People
Our team are our biggest asset and we are proud to have over 50 in-house PhDs. Nurturing employee excellence is key to our success and we continue to invest in the learning and development of staff.