BSA-Free Antibodies
BioVision offers a range of carrier-free antibodies that can be used for a wide variety of applications including ELISA, Imaging Mass Cytometry (Cy-TOF), in vivo assays, Immunofluorescence, Flow Cytometry, functional assays and metal conjugation based assays. Antibody conjugation is an important step in several immunoassays in the field of molecular biology. Conjugation of antibodies involves the use of enzymes (such as HRP, Streptavidin, Biotin), fluorescent dyes or proteins. To achieve successful conjugation, antibody characteristics and the buffer or preservatives used to prepare the antibody plays an important role. Antibodies are generally formulated in PBS, coupled with carrier proteins such as Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA). BSA is important for maintaining stability of the antibody. However, in conjugation studies, BSA will outcompete the primary antibody to bind to the labeling molecule of interest (fluorochromes, heavy metals) due to the presence of the free sulfhydryl group of cysteine. This will severely affect the antibody conjugation reaction and result in lower conjugation efficiency. Hence, to ensure that users can perform antibody conjugation with ease, BioVision offers numerous BSA-free antibodies.
