When attempting to raise an antibody, immunizations should be performed in animals that are as far in evolutionary distance from the antigen source as possible. As an example, when raising antibodies against a human protein, it is more suitable to use a rabbit or mouse host than a monkey. For weakly immunogenic, highly conserved proteins isolated from mammalian sources, raising antibodies in the avian (chicken) system is often a preferred alternative to mammals.

Bio-Synthesis provides a complete palette of polyclonal antibody production options with our host animals operated under USDA license and hold an NIH Animal Welfare Assurance from the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare for immunization. Furthermore, all procedures performed during immunization are described in our Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) to ensure a high-quality product.

To obtain further information, contact us. BSI supplies a Polyclonal Antibody Information Sheet with each inquiry to assist in meeting customer specifications.

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Selection of Host Animals

Animals frequently used for polyclonal antibody productions include chickens, goats, guinea pigs, hamsters, horses, mice, rats, and sheep. However, the rabbit is the most commonly used laboratory animal for this purpose. Animal selection should be based upon several factors

1.	The amount of antibody needed,
2.	The relationship between the donor of the antigen and the recipient antibody producer (generally the more distant the phylogenetic relationship, the greater the potential for high titer antibody response). In order to achieve maximum immune response, it is important to avoid self-recognition of the immunogen by the host animal. As an example, when raising antibodies against a human protein, it is more suitable to use a rabbit or mouse host than a monkey but other detailed characteristics need to be taken into consideration as well such as antibody class, subclass (isotype), complement fixing nature of the antibodies and more.
3.	Immunization and phlebotomies are stress associated and, at least when using rabbits and rodents, specific pathogen free (SPF) animals are preferred. Use of such animals can dramatically reduce morbidity and mortality due to pathogenic organisms, especially Pasteurella multocida in rabbits.

Goats or Horses are generally used when large quantities of antisera are required. Many investigators favor chickens because of their phylogenetic distance from mammals.

Chickens transfer high quantities of IgY (IgG) into the egg yolk and harvesting antibodies from eggs eliminates the need for the invasive bleeding procedure. One week's eggs can contain 10 times more antibodies than the volume of rabbit blood obtained from one weekly bleeding. However, there are some disadvantages when using certain chicken derived antibodies in immunoassays. For highly conserved mammalian proteins, raising antibodies in an avian (chicken) system is offer a preferred alternative. Chicken IgY does not fix mammalian complement component C1 and it does not perform as a precipitating antibody using standard solutions. Learn more about Chicken IgY Antibody.

Mice are used most frequently for monoclonal antibody production, their small size usually prevents their use for sufficient quantities of polyclonal, serum antibodies. However, polyclonal antibodies in mice can be collected from ascites fluid using anyone of a number of ascites producing methodologies. Learn more about Mouse Polyclonal Antibody.

Rabbits, young adult rabbits (2.5-3.0kg) should be used for primary immunization because of the vigorous antibody response. Immune function peaks at puberty and primary responses to new antigens decline with age. Female rabbits are generally preferred because they are more docile and are reported to mount a more vigorous immune response than males. At least two animals per antigen should be used when using outbreed animals. This principle reduces potential total failure resulting from non-responsiveness to antigens of individual animals. Learn more about Rabbit Polyclonal Antibody.