Antibody Techniques Flashcards
What is ELISA?
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
What does ELISA do?
It uses antibodies to detect the presence of an antigen within a solution.
What can immunohistochemistry be used for?
To diagnose cancer as it can identify abnormal gene expression within cells.
What is bright-field microscopy commonly used to observe?
- Whole organisms
- Parts of organisms
- Thin sections of dissected tissue
- Individual cells
What does fluorescence microscopy use to bind to and visualise certain molecules or structures within a cell?
Specific fluorescence labels.
What is the purpose of aseptic technique?
To eliminate unwanted microbial contaminants when culturing microorganisms or cells.
What does aseptic technique involve?
The sterilisation of equipment and culture media by heat or chemical means and subsequent exclusion of microbial contaminants.
How can a microbial culture be started?
Using an inoculum of microbial cells on an agar medium, or in a broth with suitable nutrients. Animal cells are grown in medium containing growth factors from serum.
What are growth factors?
Proteins that promote cell growth and proliferation. Growth factors are essential for the culture of most animal cells.
What does plating out of a liquid microbial culture on solid media allow for?
The number of colony-forming units to be counted and the density of cells in the culture to be estimated.
What is often required to achieve a suitable colony count?
Serial dilution.
What is required to identify and count viable cells?
Vital staining.
What are monoclonal antibodies?
Stocks of antibodies with the same specificity.
