Monoclonal antibodies

• Monoclonal antibodies


  Antibodies from a single clone of cells
• Making monoclonal antibodies


  1. Take a cell, clone it a whole bunch of times

  2. Make all the clones produce antibodies

  3. Isolate the antibodies
• Antibodies


  Small proteins produced by white blood cells (B lymphocytes) to help fight disease
• Antibodies


  • Bind to foreign material called antigens
  • Spread out and bind to any bacteria with that particular antigen
• Making monoclonal antibodies in a lab

  1. Combine B lymphocytes with fast dividing tumor cells to form hybridomas

  2. Hybridomas divide rapidly and produce identical antibodies

  3. Collect and purify the antibodies
• Getting the right B lymphocytes

  1. Inject an animal (e.g. mouse) with the antigen

  2. Animal's immune system generates B lymphocytes specific to that antigen

  3. Isolate those B cells and combine with tumor cells
• Monoclonal antibodies


  • Always bind to one specific thing
  • Can be made to bind to any protein, cell, pathogen or chemical
• Uses of monoclonal antibodies

  • Attach drugs, fluorescent proteins or radioactive material to target and destroy cancer cells