2C-Antibodies in medicine Flashcards
how are antibodies specific
their binding sites have a unique tertiary structure
can monoclonal antibodies bind to anything you want
they can be made to bind to anything you want and they will only bind to that molecule
how is cancer treated using monoclonal antibodies
monoclonal antibodies made to bind to the tumour markers and have a anti-cancer drug attached. antibodies come into contact with the antigen on the cancer cells they will bind to the tumour markers. the drug only targets tumour cells
why is the side effects of antibody based drugs lower
because they thy accumulate near a specific cell
how do pregnancy tests work
the hCG in the urine will bind to the antibody on the beads forming an antigen-antibody complex. urine moves up the strip carrying the beads with it. the strip has antibodies to hCG attached to it stuck in place so if hCG is present the test strip turns blue. immobilised antibody binds to the hCG. if hCG isn’t present the beads will pass through without binding to anything
what does ELISA test stand for
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
what is an ELISA test
to see if patient has any antigens to a certain antibody or an antibody to a certain antigen. used in medical diagnosis to test for pathogenic infections, for allergies
how does an ELISA test work
antibody with enzyme attached to it. enzyme reacts with substrate to produce coloured product causing solution in reaction vessel to change colour meaning antigen or antibody present
how does direct ELISA work
antigens are bound to the inside of a well a detection antibody, with enzyme attached, that is complementary to the antigen is added if antigen of interest present it will be immobilised on the inside of the well and detection antibody will bind to it
well then washed out to remove unbound antibody and substrate solution added, if detection antibody present enzyme reacts with substrate giving colour change
how does indirect ELISA work
HIV antigen bound to bottom of well. sample of patients blood plasma that contains several different antibodies is added. if HIV-specific antibodies present they will bind to HIV antigen. well then washed out to remove any unbound antibodies
secondary antibody that has enzyme attached to it is added. secondary antibody can bind to HIV specific antibody (primary antibody). well washed out again to remove unbound secondary antibody. if no primary antibody in the sample all secondary antibody will be washed away because there’s nothing to bind to it
solution added to the well. solution contains substrate that reacts with enzyme attached to the secondary antibody and produces a colour. this means they have HIV specific antibody in their blood.
what are the ethical problem with monoclonal antibodies
animals used to produce cells which monoclonal antibodies are produced
what does a larger sample size mean
the results are less likely dues to chance
