Patent ID: 7754433
Filing Date: 2010-07-13
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. A method of determining the relative binding affinities of antibodies to an antigen, comprising: providing a set of serial dilutions of a target antigen comprising a first dilution of said target antigen and a second dilution of said target antigen; providing a set of serial dilutions of a reference antibody that binds to said target antigen; incubating each dilution of said reference antibody with each dilution of said target antigen; measuring the relative degree to which the antibody in each dilution of said reference antibody binds to the target antigen in each dilution of said target antigen; selecting the dilution of said target antigen at which differences in the relative degree to which the antibody in each dilution of said reference antibody binds to said target antigen are greater than the differences in the relative degree to which the antibody in each dilution of said reference antibody binds to said target antigen in another dilution of said target antigen, wherein the selected dilution is such that a desired signal strength is produced by the binding of said reference antibody to said target antigen; providing a set of test antibody solutions, wherein the concentration of antibody in each test antibody solution is within the concentration range of antibody in said serial dilutions of said reference antibody; incubating the selected dilution of said target antigen with each test antibody solution in the set of test antibody solutions; measuring the relative degree to which the test antibody in each test antibody solution binds to the target antigen in said selected dilution of said target antigen; and ranking the test antibodies in each test antibody solution based on said relative degree to which the test antibodies in each test antibody solution bind to the target antigen in said selected dilution of said target antigen in order to determine the relative binding-affinity of each test antibody to said target antigen.