sales@operon.es
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Large scale production of monoclonal antibodies and recombinant antigens for the immunoassays industry and clinical research.
Large scale production of monoclonal antibodies and recombinant antigens for the immunoassays industry and clinical research.
Highest quality
More than 40 years of experience
Large-scale manufacturing up to hundreds of grams
Optimum batch-to-batch consistency
Antibodies (also called immunoglobulins or Ig) are gamma globulin-type glycoproteins found in soluble form in the blood or other fluids of vertebrates. They act as receptors for B lymphocytes, identifying and neutralising foreign elements such as viruses, bacteria or parasites.
Depending on the heavy chain form of the antibody, there are different isotypes. In mammals, five classes of isotypes (IgG, IgM, IgE, IgA and IgD) have been reported with different functions to direct the necessary immune response depending on the type of foreign bodies they encounter.
Within the antibodies, two types can be differentiated: monoclonal antibodies and polyclonal antibodies. In OPERON, we are dedicated to the manufacture of monoclonal antibodies. These are produced by a cell resulting from the fusion of a B lymphocyte clone and a tumour plasma cell. As all the clones come from a single stem cell, the resulting monoclonal antibodies are identical.
The production of monoclonal antibodies can be carried out in several ways: with tissue cultures whose tumours synthesise the ascitic fluid (fluid with a high concentration of antibodies), or by means of cell culture or bioreaction. In OPERON, the manufacture is always by cell culture or by bioreaction.
Antigens are all substances that can be recognised by the adaptive immune system, whether their own or foreign. Normally, they are mainly proteins or polysaccharides: i.e. parts of bacteria (capsule, cell wall, flagella, fimbriae, and toxins), viruses or other micro-organisms.
So what is the difference between an antigen and an immunogen? An immunogen always induces a protective immune response when it is introduced into the body. On the other hand, an antigen is a molecule that is capable of binding to an antibody, but does not necessarily induce an immune response.
Recombinant antigens are produced using the recombinant DNA technique. This technique is based on expressing a gene from one organism in a different organism, such as bacteria, yeast, insect or mammalian cells.
By joining DNA sequences from two different organisms that are not normally found together, an artificial DNA molecule (recombinant DNA) can be produced in vitro. In an organism, the recombinant DNA causes a genetic modification by the addition of a new DNA sequence. This, at the same time, leads to the expression of new traits or modification of existing ones.
OPERON manufactures the antibodies and recombinant antigens included in its catalogue on a large scale (up to hundreds of grams), depending on demand of each product. In addition, we offer a tailor-made service to manufacture monoclonal antibodies in large scale using customer’s hybridomas. These hybridomas are received at our facilities and we agree with the customer the quantities and type of processes, purification, formats, etc., optimal for the manufacture. For large-scale production of recombinant antigens, the transforming cells required for production are received and, as in the previous case, the terms of supply and manufacturing processes are agreed with the customer.
OPERON supplies monoclonal antibodies with a concentration of 5-10 mg/ml, purity >80 % by AIEX, HIC, GPC, Protein A/G/L or CIEX , in PBS, Borate, Carbonate or Tris-HCl buffer. Recombinant antigens are provided at >90 % purity by affinity chromatography, at a concentration of 1-2 mg/ml in Tris or HEPES buffer.
