Unconjugated Antibodies

Unconjugated secondary antibodies refer to antibodies that are not directly labeled or attached to any reporter molecules, such as enzymes or fluorophores. They are typically raised against the species-specific immunoglobulins of the primary antibodies used in an experiment. They have some advantages over conjugated secondary antibodies, although this should always be considered depending on the experiment:

1. flexibility in fluorescent color selection:

A major advantage of using unconjugated secondary antibodies is the flexibility in choosing the fluorescent color for the experiments. Unlike conjugated secondary antibodies, which are already labeled with a specific dye or reporter molecule label, unconjugated secondary antibodies allow the researcher to conjugate the antibody as needed with a custom label that meets the specific requirements of the experimental setup. This flexibility is particularly important when different fluorescent colors are to be used, either to detect multiple proteins simultaneously or to label specific cell components or tissue structures.

2. reduction of background signals:

The use of unconjugated secondary antibodies can help reduce background signals in experiments. Antibodies can form non-specific bonds and thus contribute to increased background signal. By using unconjugated secondary antibodies of the same isotype, such problems can be minimized. This results in a higher signal-to-noise ratio and improved accuracy of results.

3. signal amplification

Unconjugated secondary antibodies can amplify the signal in an immunoassay by binding to primary antibodies that have already bound to the target antigen. Thus, they locally increase the concentration of Fc fragments to which labeled tertiary antibodies can bind. Since multiple non-conjugated secondary antibodies can bind to a single primary antibody, this leads to signal amplification and increased sensitivity of the respective immunoassay.

Below you will find our unconjugated secondary antibodies, which you can easily browse and filter by the properties relevant to you. If you have any questions, please contact our scientific customer support.