General FAQs
What Is A Standing Order?
How Do I Setup A Standing Order?
Just contact us and let our customer service team know you want to setup a standing order. When placing a standing order the following information will be needed
- Purchase order number or other method of payment
- Shipping and billing addresses
- Items requested
- Quantity of each item requested per shipment
- Schedule of shipment dates
How Can I Get A Quote?
What Are The Payment Options?
-
Purchase Order
-
All Major Credit Cards
-
Wire Transfer
How Can I Submit An Order?
Why Do Different Bottles Of Human Serum Sometimes Look Different From One Another?
Innovative Research Products go to great lengths to ensure that our human sera are the most consistent products commercially available. Although our human serum is manufactured using raw material from congruous donor pools and according to time-tested protocols, it is possible to perceive differences in the physical appearance of this product from lot-to-lot. This phenomenon can be largely attributed to variation in diet amongst human beings (particularly with respect to dietary fats). Another source for slight differences comes from non-uniform storage conditions and/or handling variations in the laboratory setting. Due to the special sensitivity of this product (as compared to other sera), it is critical that human serum be cared for as recommended by the manufacturer.
Why Are Some Of Your Antibodes Supplied With BSA And Azide?
Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) is a protein-stabilizing agent and Sodium Azide is a preservative that prevents bacterial growth. The carrier protein and preservative are added to increase functionality and longevity of the antibodies. Antibodies supplied with BSA and Azide can be stored at 2-4°C.
How Is Streptavidin Used?
Streptavidin has a high affinity for biotin, with Kd = 1 x 10E-15 moles/L (Green, N.M. [1975] Adv. Protein Chem. 291:85). Streptavidin covalently conjugated to a reporter such as a fluorochrome (R-PE or FITC) or an enzyme (HRP or alkaline phosphatase) has utility in detecting, localizing, and quantitating biotin. Bound streptavidin conjugates can be detected either by fluorescence microscopy or by adding color producing enzyme substrate. This technique is especially useful with biotinylated antibodies. The biotinylation of antibodies is, relatively speaking, an easy procedure and the resulting product will continue to bind to its target antigen with a high degree of specificity and avidity. However, biotin itself cannot be readily detected. Biotin becomes highly apparent once streptavidin conjugated to a reporter is added.
How Is Dialyzed FBS Processed?
It is dialyzed by tangential flow filtration against 0.15 M NaCl using a 10,000 molecular weight cut-off membrane until the glucose level is less than 5 mg/dL. Since this is not exhaustive dialysis, low molecular weight dialyzable components, such as amino acids may not be totally removed. Exhaustive dialysis is not performed because it can result in precipitation and inactivation of serum peptides.
How Do I Heat Inactive Serum?
Heat at 56°C in a water bath for 30 minutes. Swirl bottle every 10 minutes or so. For accuracy, use a second bottle of similar size and add the equivalent volume of water to this bottle. Place a thermometer in this control bottle in order to see when 56°C is reached. Set your timer for 30 minutes at this point.
Why Would I Heat Inactive Serum?
Heating inactivates complement. Active complement can participate in cytolytic events, contract smooth muscle, release histamine from mast cells and platelets, and activate lymphocytic and macrophage cells. Applications where heat inactivated serum is recommended include immunological studies and culturing ES cells, insect cells, and smooth muscle cells.
Why Does Material Precipitate In FBS Upon Storage In The Refrigerator?
FBS is not pre-aged. When stored at 2 to 8°C, the possibility exists for various proteins and lipoproteins in serum (e.g., cold agglutinins, fibrinogen, vitronectin, etc.) to aggregate, and form either perceptible material or observed turbidity. This should not affect serum performance. We recommend that you store FBS at -20°C and avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles.
What Is An ELISA?
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a test that uses antibodies and color change to identify a substance.
ELISA is a popular format of a "wet-lab" type analytic biochemistry assay that uses a solid-phase enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of a substance, usually an antigen, in a liquid sample or wet sample.
The ELISA has been used as a diagnostic tool in medicine and plant pathology, as well as a quality-control check in various industries.
Antigens from the sample are attached to a surface. Then, a further specific antibody is applied over the surface so it can bind to the antigen. This antibody is linked to an enzyme, and, in the final step, a substance containing the enzyme's substrate is added. The subsequent reaction produces a detectable signal, most commonly a color change in the substrate.
Performing an ELISA involves at least one antibody with specificity for a particular antigen. The sample with an unknown amount of antigen is immobilized on a solid support (usually a polystyrene microtiter plate) either non-specifically (via adsorption to the surface) or specifically (via capture by another antibody specific to the same antigen, in a "sandwich" ELISA). After the antigen is immobilized, the detection antibody is added, forming a complex with the antigen. The detection antibody can be covalently linked to an enzyme, or can itself be detected by a secondary antibody that is linked to an enzyme through bioconjugation. Between each step, the plate is typically washed with a mild detergent solution to remove any proteins or antibodies that are not specifically bound. After the final wash step, the plate is developed by adding an enzymatic substrate to produce a visible signal, which indicates the quantity of antigen in the sample.
How Long Can Frozen Human Serum Be Stored?
Although it is impossible to claim stability data for every possible application and use for human serum, we conservatively estimate that if this product is stored properly at -20C, it can be used for 5 years from the date of manufacture without any decrease in product performance. Storage at any other temperature may affect results.