Antibody specificity refers to the ability of an antibody to bind to and only to its target antigen; this exclusivity requires high-level validation techniques, among which genetic verification is the best choice. Among genetic approaches, gene knockout (KO) at the genomic level, and gene knockdown (KD) at the mRNA level using small interference RNA (siRNA) and short hairpin RNA (shRNA) techniques have been widely used for antibody validation. Knocking out a gene will lead to a complete ablation of its encoded protein, but for genesessential to cell survival knockout will be lethal. Using siRNA to knock down genes is cost-effective and less time-consuming, but the knockdown is transient in and of itself.  Compared to KO and siRNA approach, shRNA KD offers the following benefits, 1) lentiviral shRNA can be stably integrated into a cell’s genome and result in a more complete knockdown compared to siRNA; 2) It is particularly powerful for difficult-to-target and nondividing cells; 3) It knocks down rather than knocks out a gene, so it is particularly useful for the study of genes vital to cell survival.

 

At GenuIN Biotech LLC, we have developed a proprietary shRNA-mediated gene knockdown platform to test antibody specificity. Using our lentiviral platform, we have tested the specificity of antibodies using Western blotting, immunocytochemical staining, or flow cytometry. The benefit to you is that we validate the specificity of these antibodies so that you don’t need to do it all out of scratches, saving your resources, and above all, your time. 

 

To avoid any confusion, we use standard international protein nomenclature to name our antibody. For example, for β-actin antibody, we use anti-ACTB antibody as the name and have listed all the aliases of β-actin (ACTB) protein in the product information. You can search our website using the protein name you know or click the toggle button next to the Protein Name to sort the list alphabetically, then click the highlighted Protein Name to find the detailed information about this antibody. 

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Species: H, human; M, mouse; R, rat; B, bovine; D, dog, C, chicken; P, pig

Applications: WB, Western blot; IC, immunocytochemistry; F, flow cytometry; IHC, immunohistochemistry