According to https://www.bbc.co.uk, monoclonal antibodies are identical copies of a single kind of antibody.
You might already know that monoclonal antibodies have been responsible for revolutionizing the laboratory diagnosis of several critical diseases. Because of this reason, monoclonal antibodies are also used as diagnostic reagents for several biochemical analysis as well as diagnostic tools for imaging critical diseases. You must know about the different applications of the monoclonal antibodies so that you can understand how and when they are used. Given below is a list of the important applications of monoclonal antibodies you should know about.
Monoclonal antibodies in biochemical analysis
Diagnostic tests, based on the usage of monoclonal antibodies as reagents are utilized for enzyme-linked radioimmunoassay and immunosorbent assays within any laboratory. These assays are responsible for measuring the circulation of hormone concentration, which include:
- Insulin
- Growth hormone
- Human chorionic gonadotropin
- Progesterone
- Thyroid-stimulating hormone
- Thyroxin
- Renin
- Gastrin
They also help in measuring the concentration of cell products and tissues, like:
- Tumor markers
- Blood clotting factors
- Interferon’s interleukins
- Blood group antigens
- Histocompatibility antigens
In the last few years, several diagnostic kits of monoclonal antibodies have been introduced commercially. It helps in diagnosing conditions like:
- Pregnancy, by understanding the human chorionic gonadotropin level.
- Estimation of cancer by detecting plasma carcinoembryonic antigen for colorectal cancer as well as prostate-specific antigen for prostate cancer. Estimation of the tumor markers helps in the prognosis of any kind of cancer.
- Hormonal disorders by analyzing thyroid-stimulating hormone, thyroxin, and triiodothyronine for thyroid disorders.
Monoclonal antibodies in diagnostic imaging
Monoclonal antibodies are also used for diagnosing imaging of several diseases and this particular method is known as immunoscintigraphy. The radioisotopes, which are used for labeling monoclonal antibodies include:
- Iodine-131
- Technetium-99.
The monoclonal antibody is tagged with a particular radioisotope and injected into patients intravenously. Immunoscintigraphy is considered to be one of the best diagnostic tools in comparison to other techniques of imaging like CT scan, magnetic resonance, and ultrasound scan. This process can also help in differentiating between non-cancerous and cancerous growth, and the reason behind this is that monoclonal antibodies are tumor-specific. This is something that is not possible with any other imaging technique. Monoclonal antibodies have been successful in the ideal imaging of cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and several kinds of bacterial infections. To purchase commercial monoclonal antibodies, you can visit the website of Mybiosource.
Monoclonal antibodies in immunohistopathology of cancers
The cancerous tissues go through several pathological changes. These changes can easily be detected with the help of the unique techniques of immunohistopathology. This is normally done by using monoclonal antibodies against one specific antigen.
Monoclonal antibodies in hematopoietic malignancies
You must know that hematopoietic cells within the bone marrow are considered to be the precursor of different kinds of blood cells, T-lymphocytes, and B-lymphocytes. These are produced in stepwise transformations. In the case of malignancy, the transformation of these lymphocytes stops after a particular maturation period. This can easily be detected by making use of the stage-specific monoclonal antibodies.
Conclusion
Monoclonal antibodies have several important and unique applications that you should know about. Make sure that you know about all the different applications that have been mentioned above.