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monoclonal antibody

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are laboratory-produced antibodies that are designed to target specific antigens with a high degree of precision. These antibodies are created from a single type of immune cell (hence "monoclonal") that is a clone of a parent cell. Hence, the term "monoclonal" refers to the fact that all the antibodies produced are identical and specifically recognize a single target.

The production of monoclonal antibodies involves several steps:

1. Immunization: A specific antigen (such as a peptide, protein or cell surface marker) is introduced into an animal, typically a mouse or a rat. This triggers an immune response, leading to the production of antibodies by B cells.

2. Cell Fusion: B cells that produce the desired antibodies are extracted from the immunized animal's spleen or bone marrow. These B cells are then fused with a myeloma cell, a type of cancerous plasma cell to create an immortalized hybrid that can be cultured in media. This fusion creates hybrid cells called hybridomas.

3. Selection: The hybridomas are cultured in media under selective conditions and only those cells that produce the desired antibodies are selected and cloned. This ensures that all the antibodies produced by these cells are identical and target the specific antigen.

4. Production: The selected hybridomas are grown in large quantities in bioreactors, allowing for the production of a significant amount of monoclonal antibodies.

Monoclonal antibodies have several valuable applications in medicine, research, and biotechnology. In the field of medicine, they are used in targeted therapies to treat various diseases, including certain types of cancer, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases. They can be engineered to deliver drugs directly to specific cells, minimizing damage to healthy tissues.

In research, monoclonal antibodies are vital tools for studying specific proteins and identifying markers associated with diseases. They are used in diagnostic tests, such as ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and immunohistochemistry (IHC), to detect the presence of specific antigens in samples.


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