Table 1.

Attributes of Different Common Antibody Types

Antibody type	Production	Advantages	Disadvantages
Conventional polyclonal	Production time short and inexpensive. Require larger pure proteins as immunogens.	Recognize multiple epitopes on one antigen and can thus help amplify a signal from a target protein with low expression level. Comprises heterogeneous mixture of different IgGs; hence, higher affinity through cooperativity, and thus more resistant to rigorous washing. More tolerant of antigen variation; preferred choice for detection of denatured proteins. More stable over a broad pH and salt concentration.	Greater likelihood of cross-reactivity, high background, and immune mimicry. Batch-to-batch variability.
Monotypic polyclonal	Production time short. Uses small peptides as immunogens; hence, easy to start from DNA sequence.	Simple production procedure. Can tailor antibodies to specific peptide epitopes.	Single epitope recognition means often lower affinity, and high background and cross-reactivity, also due to hapten-recognizing IgGs.
Monoclonal	Production time long and expensive, requiring substantial technical skill. Procedure allows for selection of optimal antibodies.	A hybridoma is a constant, renewable source of identical antibodies; hence, increased reproducibility. Procedure allows for selection for optimal characteristics. Single specific IgG means lower background.	Often low concentration and modest affinity; hence, less rigorous washing possible. High epitope specificity means less tolerance of antigen variation or damage; thus highly susceptible to changes in pH and salt concentration.