Monoclonal antibodies, electrophoretically transferred from polyacrylamide gels, retain their ability to bind specific antigens

Abstract

Antibodies subjected to SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transferred to nitrocellulose paper, have been found to retain the ability to bind specific antigen. This has been demonstrated for two groups of antibodies, directed to a) a large molecular weight glycoprotein of the human milk fat globule and b) human interferon α2. Immunoreactive antibody fragments produced by protease digestion could also be identified in this way on Western blots, thus permitting the development of optimal conditions for digestion, without the need for extensive purification procedures.