PolyQuick custom antibody development service by Zymed Laboratories Inc. is a comprehensive service, which includes immunogen design and antibody production, in an accelerated timeframe of 6-8 weeks (compared to 3 months for standard service). The company provides services such as antigen design, peptide synthesis, peptide-KLH/GGG-conjugations, and antibody production. They immunize two rabbits and provide 5 ml of pre-immune serum and 50 ml of antiserum per rabbit. For quality control, they test the final antiserum using ELISA. They also provide a regular antibody development service (takes up to 3 and a half months) to produce antiserum. With the regular service, the company promises a test bleed after the third immunization and a higher antibody titer.
We used the PolyQuick custom antibody development service to produce antibodies for the human protein, pseudouridine synthase 1, for immunofluorescent localization studies. First, scientists at Zymed did a comprehensive analysis of immunogen design to select areas of the protein for antibody targeting. After peptide selection (and my approval), PolyQuick antiserum was produced and shipped in approximately 6 weeks, just as promised. They also provided us with the ELISA data that contained the antibody titers. They contacted me by email to confirm that the antiserum was received.
To perform immunofluorescent staining, we incubated a number of different cell types with antiserum and diluted 1:100 with 1% BSA in PBS at 4ºC, overnight, without any additional antibody purifications. We used the EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid, erythroid K-562 and human muscle cell lines. To visualize the signal, the cells were incubated with secondary goat anti-rabbit Alexa fluor 568 antibodies at 1:500 dilution for 1 hour. The cells were then mounted and immediately observed with a fluorescence microscope. The experiment worked beautifully on the first try. The signal was very strong, but clear and specific. Overall, we were very satisfied with antibody titer; the background was low and the antibody specificity was high.
The only drawback of using the PolyQuick service is the higher price compared to other services. The price of our regular service is $1250.00 while the price of the PolyQuick service is $1395.00. If time is not a big issue, Zymed actually recommends the regular antibody service because it is cheaper and provides a higher antibody titer. In my experience, the titer of PolyQuick antiserum was quite good and the results are very satisfactory.
In conclusion, our laboratory has been very satisfied with the PolyQuick custom antibody development service by Zymed Laboratories Inc. We will certainly use Zymed in the future for all of our custom antibodies projects. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, Zymed provides excellent customer support through emails and phone communications.
Yelena Bykhovskaya, PhD
Research Scientist I
Molecular Hematology Laboratory
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center