Isotype Controls

With the wide variety of experimental techniques relying on primary antibodies, it is important to use both positive- and negative-controls in your antibody applications. We are generally more familiar with positive controls, which confirm antibody reactivity with a known-positive sample. However, we are often less familiar with adequate negative controls. An example of a negative control is an isotype control, which helps to confirm the specificity of a primary antibody.

Primary antibodies are becoming increasingly popular investigate tool to use in research, given the breadth and selection of product on the market. Not only are antibodies raised in a variety of hosts, they also have proven reactivity with a wide range of species applying to many research fields and models.

Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a widely applied experimental method used to examine tissue antigen expression and behavior with the use of an antibody conjugated to a secondary tag for visualization.  IHC consists of a tissue preparation phase, an antibody-staining phase, and a result analysis phase - all of which may lead to skewed results if not properly performed.  One way to ensure that IHC staining results are in fact demonstrating protein behavior and not a side effect the experimental process is to use IHC controls within each expe