Rabbit Monoclonal Antibodies

Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody Advantages And Production

What Are Rabbit Monoclonal Antibodies?

Monoclonal antibodies are used as primary antibodies in research because of their high specificity for a unique epitope of an antigen, which also leads to minimal lot-to-lot variation and low non-specific cross-reactivity. After the discovery of the hybridoma technique designed by Caesar Millstein and Georges Kohler to produce monoclonal antibodies in 1975, monoclonal antibodies have been conventionally developed in mice for various applications. Over the years, other new techniques have led to the emergence of monoclonal antibodies raised against rabbits, rats, and hamsters. Although mouse monoclonal antibodies have remained as the most commonly used type of monoclonal antibody, a 2015 CiteAb study observed accelerating growth in the number of researchers using rabbit monoclonal antibodies while mouse monoclonals have experienced a steady decrease in the percentage of citations.

Why Choose Rabbit Monoclonal Antibodies?

Rabbit monoclonal antibodies have been widely acknowledged for its high specificity and affinity. What enables rabbit monoclonal antibodies to be superior antibodies are the unique features of the rabbit immune system.

Browse All Rabbit Monoclonals

Why is rabbit monoclonal antibodies better ?

The rabbit immune system can produce greater antibody diversity due to the factors below.

Somatic Gene Conversion & Somatic Hypermutation

Somatic gene conversion and hypermutation influence the variable regions of immunoglobulin (Ig) genes, which happen more often in rabbits than rodents. This ultimately contributes to enhancing the rabbit monoclonal antibody repertoire.

IgG Vs IgM

Rabbits have more IgG as an isotype compared to mice which have a higher ratio of IgM. Because IgG has better specificity than IgM, rabbits have more potential to develop specific antibodies.

CDRs (Complementarity-Determining Regions)

Since rabbit CDR3 sequences are longer and more heterogeneous, more sequence variation can occur.

Lower Immunodominance

Immunodominance refers to particular epitopes being more immunogenic than other epitopes of the same antigen, which causes the immune system to mainly generate antibodies against the dominantly immunogenic epitope. The rabbit’s immune system has lower immunodominance than mouse, which allows for more antibody diversity.

Larger Number Of Lymphocytes

Rabbits have larger spleens and other immune organs than mice, which indicates that more lymphocytes (B cells) are available for producing antibodies.

Extended Period Of Affinity Maturation

After immunization, affinity maturation can persist for a longer period of time for rabbits than mice, resulting in higher affinity and specificity for rabbit monoclonal antibodies.

Benefits Of Rabbit Monoclonal Antibodies

Due to the unique features of the rabbit immune system, rabbit monoclonal antibodies are capable of offering the following benefits:

High Specificity & Affinity

Rabbit monoclonal antibodies are effective in recognizing minor epitope variations and cleaved versions of a target protein. Furthermore, rabbit monoclonal antibodies can have extremely low equilibrium dissociation constants (KD) in the picomolar range (KD = 10-12M).

Low Background Noise

As rabbit monoclonal antibodies only detect a single epitope, they have a low chance of cross-reacting with other proteins. Since rabbit monoclonal antibodies also bind to the target antigen with greater affinity, they prove to have a higher signal-to-noise ratio than mouse monoclonal antibodies.

Ideal For IHC

For IHC, antibodies need to be able to identify epitopes in a background with more noise (i.e. FFPE tissues). In this case, rabbit monoclonal antibodies are an excellent choice because they can be highly sensitive while retaining specificity even in strict applications like IHC.

Good For Post-Translational Modification (PTM) Detection

The rabbit immune system can produce antibodies against small epitopes existing in small molecules, lipids, and polymers, which permit rabbit monoclonal antibodies to identify subtle changes from PTMs (e.g., phosphorylation, methylation, acetylation, sumoylation, etc.) or single amino acid substitutions.

Novel Epitope Recognition For Human, Mouse, And Rat Targets

In comparison to the mouse immune system, the rabbit immune system possesses reduced immunodominance and greater B-cell diversity, which enables wider epitope detection and a higher possibility of discovering unique epitopes when developing rabbit monoclonal antibodies.

Validated For Flow, IHC, WB, ICC, IF, IP

Our rabbit monoclonal antibodies have been validated for various applications including WB, IHC, ICC/IF, IP, and flow cytometry as well as common species like human, mouse, and rat.

Rabbit Monoclonal Vs. Mouse Monoclonal

Comparison	Rabbit Monoclonal Antibodies	Mouse Monoclonal Antibodies
Antigen Detection	Better at identifying subtle differences (e.g., epitope variations, like modifications, mutations, conformational changes) Able to detect a wider range of antigens, like small molecules and peptides Identifies multiple epitopes per target antigen	Often non-immunogenic for small molecules and peptides Immunodominance limits the number of epitopes recognized
Affinity	10-100x higher affinity for target antigen than mouse monoclonal antibodies (Picomolar range: 10-12 KD M) Enhanced affinity, including antigens that are poorly immunogenic in mice and humans	Lower affinity than rabbit monoclonal antibodies (Nanomolar range: ~10-9 KD M)
Specificity	High	Medium or high

Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody Production

The general stages of rabbit monoclonal antibody production consist of rabbit immunization, plasma cell isolation, cloning and expression, and screening and selection. The rabbit monoclonal antibodies produced from a single clone are characterized for specific applications (e.g., ELISA, WB, IHC, etc.) and the best clone is chosen for scaling up production and performing purification. Because of the expensive and time-consuming process (usually 4-6 months) of monoclonal antibody production, they are typically more expensive than polyclonal antibodies.

Immunize rabbits

Isolate rabbit spleen cells

Fuse with myeloma partner cells

Recover hybridoma cells

Screen for monospecific clones

Produce best antibodies on small scales

Characterize antibodies by application

Scale up production and purification

Custom Rabbit Monoclonal Antibodies

Bosterbio provides custom antibody production and development services for rabbit and mouse monoclonal antibodies as well as rabbit polyclonal antibodies. For more details about how our service can help your research, visit our custom rabbit monoclonal antibody production service page to see service information, deliverables, and expected costs. If you have any questions about your custom rabbit monoclonal antibody project, please feel free to contact us to discuss and request a quote.

Featured Rabbit Monoclonal Antibodies

Anti-FOX3/NeuN Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody

SKU	M11954-1
Reactivity	Human, Mouse, Rat
Applications	IHC, WB

Anti-CD11b Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody

SKU	M00144-1
Reactivity	Human, Mouse
Applications	IF, IHC, ICC, WB

Anti-Cyclin B1 Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody

SKU	M00745-2
Reactivity	Human, Mouse
Applications	IF, IHC, WB

Anti-Lamin B1 Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody

SKU	M02778
Reactivity	Human, Mouse, Rat
Applications	IP, IF, IHC, WB

Anti-Ubiquitin Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody

SKU	M02848-3
Reactivity	Human, Mouse, Rat
Applications	IF, IHC, WB

Anti-Actin (Alpha-Actin) Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody

SKU	M02014-4
Reactivity	Human, Mouse, Rat
Applications	Flow Cytometry, IP, IF, IHC, ICC, WB

Browse All Rabbit Monoclonals

Can’t find your antibody? Check out our custom rabbit monoclonal antibody production service and contact us for a free consultation.

Boster Rabbit Monoclonal Antibodies In Research

Anti-Beta Actin Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody

In a study published in Genes, scientists used Boster’s anti-beta actin rabbit monoclonal antibody as an internal control for western blotting to investigate retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) expression in porcine granulosa cells.

Zhao, Y., Li, C., & Zhou, X. (2019). Transcriptomic Analysis of Porcine Granulosa Cells Overexpressing Retinol Binding Protein 4. Genes, 10(8), 615. doi: 10.3390/genes10080615

Rabbit Monoclonals For Bcl2, Bax, PERK1/2, ERK1/2

Scientists investigated the role of indole-thiophene conjugate (ITC) as an inhibitor of cervical cancer cell proliferation. Using Boster’s rabbit monoclonal antibodies, the researchers studied the effects of ITC on the expression of Bcl2, Bax, pERK1/2, and ERK1/2 in HeLa cells through western blotting.

Xu, X., Ma, H., Wang, F., & Yan, J. (2019). Indole-thiophene conjugate inhibits proliferation of human cervical cancer cell lines through DNA damage. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 18(8), 1705-1710. doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v18i8.20

Rabbit Monoclonals For TGF-Β1, NF-ΚB65, Smad4, Smad3, Smad7, TNF-Α, CTGF

For a research studying the molecular responses of radiation‑induced liver damage (RILD), scientists used Boster rabbit monoclonals for IHC and WB to observe expression of TGF-β1, NF-κB65, Smad4, Smad3, Smad7, TNF-α, and CTGF for immunohistochemistry and western blot analyses in rat liver tissues.

Cheng, W., Xiao, L., Ainiwaer, A., Wang, Y., Wu, G., Mao, R., … Bao, Y. (2014). Molecular responses of radiation-induced liver damage in rats. Molecular Medicine Reports, 11(4), 2592–2600. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2014.3051

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Protocol Overview

Immunohistochemistry (IHC-P)

Tissue Preparation
Deparaffinization
Inactivation
Antigen Retrieval
Blocking
Primary Antibody Incubation
Secondary Antibody Incubation
Staining

View IHC-P & IHC-F Protocols

Western Blot

Protein Extraction
Protein Quantitation Assay
Gel Electrophoresis
Protein Transfer
Blocking
Primary Antibody Incubation
Secondary Antibody Incubation
Chromogenic or Chemiluminescent Detection

View WB Protocol

Flow Cytometry

Direct immunostaining of surface antigens
Indirect immunostaining of surface antigens
General immuno-staining procedure for intracellular antigens
Intracellular cytokine/phospho-immunostaining
In Vitro Cell Stimulation Reference Table
Dye efflux staining
DNA content or Cell cycle analysis

View Flow Cytometry Protocol

FAQs

Q1. Does BosterBio manufacture antibodies in-house?

Yes. We have over 26 years of experience in developing antibodies and ELISA kits with our proprietary platform. Our antibodies and ELISA kits are manufactured in-house and rigorously tested to ensure high quality so that our products will work as expected for your experiments.

Q2. Will BosterBio update the antibody datasheet and/or COA if there are any changes?

Our online datasheets and COAs are not lot-specific. We provide the specific datasheets and COAs when we ship out antibodies. If you would like to request a lot-specific datasheet and/or COA, please contact [email protected] and provide the lot number.

Q3. Can I get a trial sample of the rabbit monoclonal antibody?

If available, an option for a 30ug trial sample size will be shown on the product page.

Q4. Can I get a discount for BosterBio antibodies?

We generally provide discounts for bulk orders. We also offer a “Buy Primary Antibody, Get Free HRP or Biotin Secondary for Free” promotion.

Q5. Which types of antibodies does BosterBio provide? How do I choose the right antibody for my experiment?

We provide primary antibodies and secondary antibodies. Our primary antibodies include rabbit polyclonal antibodies, rabbit monoclonal antibodies, and mouse monoclonal antibodies. We also offer several types of unconjugated and conjugated secondary antibodies. Selecting the right antibody is dependent on the application, specificity, cross-reactivity, species, and immunogen required for your experiment. If you have special conjugation requests or need any technical assistance, please contact [email protected].

Q6. Can BosterBio antibodies be used for multiple applications?

Our antibodies can be used for the validated applications listed on the product page. If the antibody does not work for a validated application shown on the product page, please contact [email protected]. Our Boster Guarantee states that if our technicians are unable to make your experiment work, we will offer a refund or replacement.

Q7. Will the antibody work for an application that is not listed on the product page?

Although an antibody may work for an application not shown on the product page, it is not covered by our Boster Guarantee. You can contact [email protected] to check if our lab has any data for the requested application.

Q8. Is the immunogen sequence provided?

We provide the immunogen sequence for most of our antibodies. If the immunogen sequence is not listed, please contact the [email protected] to check if the information can be shared.

Q9. What is the antibody clone ID? What is the difference between the clone ID and the lot number?

The antibody clone ID is a unique identity number assigned to each monoclonal antibody clone. The lot number is the identifier for each batch of antibodies produced.

Q10. Can BosterBio develop a custom rabbit monoclonal antibody for me if I do not find a suitable rabbit monoclonal antibody from the catalog?

If you cannot find a suitable rabbit monoclonal antibody from our catalog, please feel free to view details of our custom rabbit monoclonal antibody production service and contact us for a free consultation.

Q11. If the antibody does not work, can I request a replacement or refund?

If the antibody does not work for an application we have listed on the product page, it is covered by our Boster Guarantee. You can contact [email protected] for technical troubleshooting. If our technicians are unable to help make your experiment work, we will provide a replacement or refund.

Q12. What is the recommended concentration I should use for the primary antibody? How do I decide the suitable antibody dilution?

Recommended dilutions are listed on our product datasheets. However, the end user will need to determine the optimal dilution ratios because of different detection devices, methods, samples, and other factors.

Q13. Why is the actual band size different from the predicted band size for my western blot?

Please see this blog for possible reasons. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

Q14. When can I receive the products after I place an order??

For US customers, the lead time is typically 7-10 business days after you have placed your order. For international customers, please contact your distributor for time estimates. Custom rabbit monoclonal antibodies follow a different timeline. Please visit our custom rabbit monoclonal antibody service page and contact us for more details about the service and production timeline.

Q15. How do you ship antibodies?

We ship antibodies through FedEx Priority and provide the tracking number to you. The package will include wet ice.

Q16. How should I aliquot the antibodies?

Aliquot volumes are dependent on the amount needed for your experiment. However, we recommend aliquots should 10μL or more. If an aliquot has too little volume, antibody concentration may be affected by liquid evaporation and/or container adsorption.

Q17. How should I store the antibodies? What is the shelf life of BosterBio's antibodies?

Our rabbit monoclonal antibodies can be stored at -20°C for one year. After reconstitution, the rabbit monoclonal antibody should be stored at 4°C for one month. If aliquotted, the antibody can be stored frozen at -20°C for a longer time. Avoid repeated freezing and thawing.