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Don’t Limit Yourself to What’s On the Shelf.
RayBiotech offers a custom research antibody service covering every step of monoclonal and polyclonal development.
Our capabilities include peptide antigen design (including phospho peptides), synthesis and carrier protein conjugation, immunization, titer analysis, serum collection or hybridoma fusion, and antibody purification. Customization options are available, such as antibody conjugation, lyophilization, custom vialing & aliquoting, and antibody validation by Western blot, ELISA, or immunoprecipitation.
Tips for choosing a research antibody
1. Review the literature
Read studies where researchers detect the exact targets you're interested in. Then, note the products they used, the protocols they followed, and the applications that worked for them.
2. Choose an antibody for your detection method
Antibodies that work in one application don't necessarily work in a different application. For example, an antibody that worked in a Western Blot may not be suitable for use in IHC.
3. Ensure the host species supports your target
To avoid cross-reactivity, the host species of your primary should be different from the host species of your sample. Consider your challenges and goals and consciously select a monoclonal or polyclonal antibody.
4. Select an appropriate secondary antibody
Choose a secondary antibody raised against your primary antibody's host species. Just like when choosing a primary antibody, consider the application.
5. Read the product datasheet
Product web pages and datasheets can be a constructive way of gathering information and making the right decision for your research. Read these thoroughly.
6. Study the protocol
Immunoassay protocols require optimization. To save yourself a lot of time and money, make sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions.
7. Store and handle the antibody appropriately
Nothing is more frustrating than throwing away an unused product ruined by improper storage. Follow the instructions to best reconstitute, store, and aliquot your antibodies.
8. Include experimental controls
Proper data interpretation relies on the inclusion of positive and negative controls. Controls ensure antibodies are behaving as expected and help distinguish background signal.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Primary and secondary antibodies differ in how they bind to antigens.
Primary antibodies bind directly to antigens in a tissue or sample, whereas secondary antibodies bind to primary antibodies creating an antigen-primary-secondary chain.
Direct immunoassays use primary antibodies to detect antigens. Indirect immunoassays use both primary and secondary antibodies.
An isotype control is a primary antibody that lacks specificity against the target antigen but matches the type and class of the primary antibody used in the experiment.
They serve as negative controls that generate reliable data by allowing researchers to accurately differentiate between specific antibody signal and non-specific interactions causing background signal.
Antibodies for flow cytometry allow scientists to detect specific antigens and characterize the proteins on the surface of cells. Similar to other immunoassays, antibodies used in flow cytometry can be directly labeled with a fluorescent dye or bind to a secondary antibody carrying the fluorescent marker. The specialized nature of antibodies enables flow cytometry to detect different cell types according to their fluorescent color, each representing an antigen-antibody interaction.
Antibodies are created by inoculating an animal with an antigen and harvesting antibodies from blood serum.
Choose a primary antibody that was produced in a host species that is different from the species that provided your sample. For example, if you are studying mouse samples, choose a primary that was not raised in mouse.
Find a secondary antibody that is against the host species of your primary antibody. For example, if the primary antibody was raised in mouse, choose an anti-mouse secondary.
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