The production of antisera.
Suitable antisera are essential for use in all immunochemical procedures. Three important properties of an antiserum are avidity, specificity, and titer. The avidity of an antiserum is a measure of the strength of the interactions of its antibodies with an antigen. The specificity of an antiserum is a measure of the ability of its antibodies to distinguish the immunogen from related antigens. The titer of an antiserum is the final (optimal) dilution at which it is employed in the procedure; it depends on the concentrations of the antibodies present and on their affinities for the antigen. The values of those parameters required for a particular antiserum very much depend on the usage to which the antiserum will be put. For example, for use in radioimmunoassay, it is best to have a monospecific antiserum of high avidity, whereas for use in immunoaffinity chromatography the monospecific antiserum should not possess too high an avidity otherwise it may prove impossible to elute the desired antigen without extensive denaturation.
Department of Chemistry, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, England.
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Bailey