Invitrogen™ Normal Rat Serum, eBioscience™

Catalog No.	Quantity
50-112-8948	500 μL
50-112-8600	100 μL

Catalog No. 50-112-8948 Supplier Invitrogen™ Supplier No. 24555594

Description

Rat Control

Description: This normal rat serum can be used to inhibit non-specific binding of rat monoclonal antibodies during staining for flow cytometric analysis or immunohistochemistry. Applications Reported: Normal Rat Serum has been reported for use in intracellular staining followed by flow cytometric analysis, immunohistochemical staining of frozen tissue sections, and immunohistochemical staining of formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue sections.

Normal Sera are non-immune serum samples from goat, human, mouse, rabbit and other species that contain the usual complement of serum proteins, including the various classes of immunoglobulins that exist in healthy animals of the particular species. Normal serum provides a sufficient quantity of endogenous proteins to saturate and block nonspecific binding sites on fixed samples or assay substrates. When used as an antibody diluent, non-immune serum also supplies a native chemical environment for antibodies to function properly without adding foreign protein components. Normal serum is frequently used for blocking or saturating generalized binding interactions for immunodetection methods, especially those involving tissue samples such as immunohistochemistry (IHC). Normal sera are also useful as controls for testing general and specific antibody purification methods.

Specifications

• Content And Storage: 4°C
• Form: Liquid
• Product Type: Rat Serum
• Quantity: 500 μL
• Concentration: Conc. Not Determined
• Formulation: Whole serum with no preservative

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The antibody I purchased from you says ''concentration not determined'' on the product label and on the product page. How do I determine the concentration?

Some antibodies are provided in non-purified formats, such as ascites fluid, tissue culture supernatant, or whole serum. These formats contain multiple proteins, which can interfere with accurate protein quantification. Traditional methods like A280 measurement or protein assays such as BCA quantify total protein but do not provide a specific concentration for the antibody in question.

Literature, such as "Antibodies" by Harlow & Lane (1988) (https://antibodiesmanual.org/index.php) (Table 8.2 - Storing and Purifying Antibodies), suggests approximate concentrations of antibodies in these solutions, as shown below. However, please note that these are rough estimates, and actual concentrations can vary based on several factors.

Serum
Total antibody concentration: 10 mg/mL
Specific antibody concentration: 0.1 to 1 mg/mL (a maximum of 10% of the antibody population is expected to be the specific antibody of interest)

Tissue Culture Supernatant (10% FBS)
Total antibody concentration: 1 mg/mL
Specific antibody concentration: 0.05 mg/mL

Tissue Culture Supernatant (serum-free)
Total antibody concentration: 0.01 to 0.05 mg/mL
Specific antibody concentration: 0.01 to 0.05 mg/mL

Ascites
Total antibody concentration: 1 to 10 mg/mL
Specific antibody concentration: 0.9 to 9 mg/mL