Looking for a specific antibody conjugate?
By Maria Kam Eriksen
Need a conjugated antibody that you don’t see in the Cell Signaling Technology® (CST®) catalog? Save time and avoid pitfalls, like the low yields associated with do-it-yourself (DIY) kits. We can conjugate it for you.
Advantages of CST Custom Conjugation
Flexible: Tiered service offerings range from basic antibody conjugation to full validation and stability testing of conjugates.
Validated: Conjugates are tested in key applications using biologically relevant cell systems and controls, and verified for physical integrity using size exclusion chromatography.
Optimized: Flexible conjugation chemistry, free dye and/or antibody purification, and identification of optimal degree of labeling (DOL) are utilized to ensure the best signal-to-noise ratio.
Support: Receive consultation and technical support from the conjugation experts who produce our ready-made conjugates.
Conjugation Services available
| Conjugation Type: Examples | Service Tier | Service Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Fluorophores Type I: Alexa Fluor®, Cyanine (CyDye®) and Pacific Blue™ dyes | Basic | Conjugation + removal of free dye |
| Tier I | Degree of labeling (DOL) + Basic Service | |
| Tier II | Validation1 + Tier I Service | |
| Tier III | Stability testing + Tier II Service | |
| Fluorophores Type II: Phycoerythrin (PE), PE-CyDye® tandems (e.g. PE-Cy®7), and allophycocyanin (APC) | Basic | Conjugation + purification |
| Tier I | Validation1 + Basic Service | |
| Tier II | Stability testing + Tier I Service | |
| Haptens: Biotin, Digoxigenin (DIG), DNP, and Dansyl | Basic | Conjugation + removal of free biotin |
| Tier I | Validation2 + Basic Service | |
| Beads: Sepharose® and Magnetic | Basic | Conjugation + removal of free antibody |
| Tier I | Validation3 + Basic Service | |
| Enzymes: Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) | Basic | Conjugation + Purification |
| Tier I | Validation2 + Basic Service | |
| Oligonucleotide 4 | Basic | Conjugation + Purification |
| Tier I | Biophysical Characterization + Basic Service |
1 Standard validation application method is Flow Cytometry. Alternatives may increase timeline and pricing.
2 Standard validation application method is Western Blot. Alternatives may increase timeline and pricing.
3 Standard validation application method is IP. Alternatives may increase timeline and pricing.
4 Oligonucleotide conjugation offering may be limited for certain IP protected technologies.
CST Custom Conjugation vs Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Conjugation Kit
DIY conjugation kits look good on paper, but are you getting your money’s worth? Inefficiencies caused by suboptimal labeling, interference with specificity, and/or destabilization/degradation can negatively affect performance. Another drawback is the loss of antibody during conjugation steps, which can mean finishing with a significantly less functional antibody than you started with.
With Custom Conjugation Services from Cell Signaling Technology (CST), you can avoid these time-consuming pitfalls and get the full amount of antibody you pay for.
Figure on left: Comparison of PE-conjugated Antibody in Flow Cytometry
Comparison of PE conjugation of Helios (D8W4X) XP® Rabbit mAb using CST custom conjugation method (blue) or conjugated using a competitor’s DIY PE conjugation kit (green). Flow cytometeric analysis of RL-7 (dashed lines), a low-expressing cell line, and Jurkat (solid lines), a high-expressing cell line. The calculated signal-to-noise ratio is shown (above).
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