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AAT Bioquest

What are the different types of antibodies available for use in ChIP assays?

Posted April 12, 2024


Answer

The different types of antibodies available for use in ChIP assays include: polyclonal antibodies, monoclonal antibodies, and epitope-tag antibodies. 

  1. Monoclonal antibodies are generated by a single clone of B cells and recognize a specific epitope with high specificity. 
  2. Polyclonal antibodies are produced by multiple clones of B cells and recognize multiple epitopes on the target protein. 
  3. Epitope-tag antibodies are  designed to recognize specific tags attached to the target protein. During immunoprecipitation, the protein of interest is typically expressed as a fusion protein with a tag inserted into either the N- or C-terminus. 

The most suitable option for a ChIP or ChIP-seq experiment is an antibody that has been validated specifically for ChIP or ChIP-seq applications.

Additional resources

Systematic comparison of monoclonal versus polyclonal antibodies for mapping histone modifications by ChIP-seq

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP)

ReadiPrep™ Protein A-Agarose Resin

Antibody & Protein Conjugation Service