Antibodies Mammalian Proteins Polyclonal Antibodies Immunoglobulin Y (Igy) Packaged Biotinylated

1. Advantage:

   • Chickens are a good choice for production of antibodies to mammalian antigens.
   • Chickens often produce antibodies when other animals give poor or no response.
   • The egg yolks typically contain the same concentration of antibodies as compared to the antibodies in the chicken sera.
   • Chicken antibodies are thought to give better results because there is less cross reactivity of antibodies with mammalian proteins.
   • Chicken antibodies do not bind with mammalian rheumatoid factors or Fc-receptors nor with proteins A or G, therefore the chicken's antibodies are unlikely to produce false positive reactions in certain immunochemical assays.
   • Chickens lay eggs regularly, providing a continual source of antibody.

2. To our knowledge, it is the most humane way to produce polyclonal antibodies. There is no need to bleed the chicken. Simply collect the eggs. Our hens are kept in flocks of six in coops that have outside runs. Our unique egg identification system allows our chickens to live freely.

3. A single chicken can produce an enormous amount of antibody, up to 3 grams of IgY per month, which is 10-20 times the amount of a rabbit. Furthermore, compared to rabbits, chickens produce antibody much quicker—high-titre antibody is available from eggs as early as day 25. Our custom IgY production services will deliver 0.5 gram of purified IgY to you within 50-60 days.

4. Fc region of chicken IgY is sufficiently different from mammalian IgG:

   • Reduces background by not binding to mammalian rheumatoid factors or other naturally occurring anti-mammalian antibodies (e.g. HAMA)
   • Does not activate mammalian complement systems
   • Does not bind to mammalian Fc receptors
   • Does not bind to staphylococcal protein A or protein G

5. By having the immunoglobulin Y (IgY) packaged conveniently in eggs, one can collect and store eggs over a long period of time and retroactively purify the IgY from the eggs of desired titre/avidity.

6. It is cheaper to feed and house chickens than rabbits.

7. IgY is a stable antibody sharing the following characteristics with mammalian IgG:

   • Divalent
   • Degraded by papain to yield divalent Fab fragment

May be enzyme-labeled, biotinylated and gold–labeled by standard procedures