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6 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What are monoclonal antibodies? |
Antibodies that are made by plasma B-cells that have been cloned from a single B-cell that has a complimentary antibody to a specific antigen. |
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Explain why antibodies are specific to antigens |
Each antigen has a different tertiary structure; so each antibody has a specific antigen binding site; each antibody only binds to complementary antigen. |
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What can monoclonal antibodies be used for? |
Targeting therapeutic drugs at specific (cancer) cells; medical diagnosis through the use of ELISA gets; pregnancy testing |
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How can ELISA be used to identify specific cells. |
Add antibody specific to the cell with an enzyme attached to the cells; wash cells to remove excess unattached antibody; Add substrate to cause colour change. |
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Why is it important to wash the plates before adding the substrate? |
To remove any unbound antibodies/ antigens; so there is no unattached enzyme to change the substrate. This would be a false positive. |
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What are the ethical issues surrounding the use of monoclonal antibodies? |
Production of monoclonal antibodies involves the deliberate induction of cancer in mice. Some people have reservations of using animals in this way. There have been deaths associated with the use of monoclonal antibodies to treat diseases. Patients need to be fully informed before starting these treatments. Drug trials have dangers associated with them. When testing monoclonal antibody treatments, volunteers suffered organ failure. Drug trail conduct was changed following this. The benefits and advantages of new medicines must be balanced with the dangers that they might bring. |
