These are revision notes/a summary about the Monoclonal Antibodies Module from the Infection and Response Topic. This is for GCSE AQA Biology(triple science) Higher tier. These were made using the specification and CGP revision guide.
Monoclonal Antibodies
Monoclonal Antibodies
Monoclonal antibodies - antibodies produced from
lots of clones from a single white blood cell
meaning they are identical and will only target a
specific antigen
Produced by
- Inject antigen into a mouse
- Isolate antibodies produced for that antigen
- lymphocytes don’t divide easily so combine
with Tumour cells that divide quickly
- Fuse B-lymphocyte with a tumour cell to Can be used in labs to find specific substances:
create a hybridoma - Bind to hormones & other chemicals in blood
to measure their levels
Hybridoma - can be cloned to get lots of identical - Test blood sample in lab for certain pathogens
cells, these cells all produce - Locate specific molecules on a cell or tissue
antibodies(monoclonal antibodies), these The antibodies made will bind to specific molecule
antibodies can be collected and purified you are looking for
→ antibodies are bound to fluorescent dye
These monoclonal antibodies are really useful as → if molecules are present in sample the
they will bind to anything you want, they will only antibodies
target one specific antigen of a cell, they will target a will attach to them and can be detected by the dye
specific chemical in your body
Pregnancy tests Treating disease
The hormone HCG is found in women only when Monoclonal antibodies can be used to treat disease
they are pregnant, these monoclonal antibodies can - Cancer cells have antigens on their cell
target and therefore test for this hormone in membrane that aren’t found on normal cells
pregnancy tests they’re called tumour markers
- You can make monoclonal antibodies that
bind to these tumour markers
- Anti-cancer drugs(radioactive substance,
toxic drug) can be attached to antibodies to
kill cells
- Can also have antibodies that send signals to
immune system to trigger response
- At bottom of pregnancy test there are beads of - Antibodies given to a patient through a drip
blue dye with antibodies stuck to them - Only target specific cells, as can only bind to
- The HCG antibodies are also stuck down to tumour markers
the test strip higher up - Drug kills cancer cells & not normal body cells
- When testing if there are hormones they will
bind to the antibodies with blue dye and be + Other cancer treatment can affect other cells
carried up the test strip + Side effects are less than chemotherapy etc
- These hormones will then bind to the - Cause more side effects than expected
antibodies on the test strip and that will be - Can cause fever, vomiting - was not expected
stuck to the test strip and dye it - Not as widely used as scientists expected
- If there are not hormones the dye will pass them to be
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