Polyclonal Antibody Production

Rabbits: MDS follows a standard or short protocol for custom antibody production in rabbits. The standard protocol takes approximately 70 days whereas the short protocol takes about 50 days. Approximately 1.2 mg of antigen per animal is required to follow either a standard or short protocol. A summary of steps in polyclonal antibody production is:

1. Set-up
2. Pre-immunization bleed (4 ml)
3. 4 immunizations per rabbit
4. 3 production bleeds (~ 50ml)
5. Final termination bleed

Depending on the number of animals used, various amounts of serum are collected at termination.

# of rabbits	Final serum volume (ml)
2	100-150
3	150-200
4	200-250

Goats: MDS uses a 70-day procedure for antibody production in goats as outlined below. About 1.2 mg of antigen is required to immunize each animal. The steps for polyclonal antibody production in goats are summarized below.

1. Set-up
2. A pre-immunization bleed (15 -20 ml)
3. 4 immunizations per goat
4. 1-2 production bleeds (200 ml)
5. Final bleed & termination

Chickens: MDS follows a 75-day procedure for antibody production in chickens. About 0.5-0.6 mg of antigen is required to immunize each bird.

The protocol routinely uses 2 chickens per antigen and includes set-up, pre-immunization egg collection, four immunizations per chicken, 15 days of post immunization egg collection, and termination. Eggs are pooled into 3 groups (days 1-5, 6-10, and 11-15) for IgY isolation and antibody titration.

# of chickens	Yield
2	10 -12 yolks
3	15 -18 yolks
4	18 -22 yolks