Monoclonal Antibody Production – A discussion on the Culturing of Mouse Hybridoma Cells

The production and maintenance of a hybridoma cell begins with the fusion of a specific antibody producing B cell, to a cancer B cell called a myeloma, which does not produce an antibody by itself. Fusion results in an immortalized line called a hybridoma that will faithfully produce a specific antibody against a single epitope called a monoclonal antibody. Once produced, proper maintenance and culturing is required to maximize the performance and continued production of the antibody in question. These were the topics covered in our last Ask the Expert session – Monoclonal antibody production and the culturing of mouse hybridoma cells. Dr. Fawcett is Director of the BioTechnical Institute of Maryland (BTI) a non-profit institute located in Baltimore, Maryland. He is also the Founder and Director of BioSciConcepts, a social venture of BTI that provides hands-on training for professional scientists in cell culture, baculovirus based expression, as well as topics such as molecular biology, PCR and real-time PCR. Dr. Fawcett who has been in biotechnology for over 30 years, provided real hands-on suggestions that readers could benefit from right away. Question topics included: Use of azaguanine Cell viability post cryopreservation Purity of antigen Serum-free culture Problem obtaining hybridomas in spite of strong signal Culture Conditions Rat-mouse hybridomas Read the answers here: http://cellculturedish.com/2013/07/monoclonal-antibody-production-a-discussion-on-the-culturing-of-mouse-hybridoma-cells/