Scientists call for antibody 'bar code’ system to follow Human Genome Project

from Los Alamos National Laboratory Feburary news release

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Feb. 4, 2015—Andrew Bradbury, a researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and more than 100 researchers from around the world have collaborated to craft a request that could fundamentally alter how the antibodies used in research are identified, a project potentially on the scale of the now-completed Human Genome Project. The paper is published in this week’s edition of the journal Nature.

The quality of all antibodies produced varies enormously according to the manufacturer, and most antibodies are rarely validated and between-batch differences are common, the researchers note. Also, the quality of the documentation accompanying the batches (for instance, on the concentration of antibody present in each vial) is enormously variable; even when it is provided, it often doesn’t correspond to the batch being supplied.

Across biomedical research, the resulting waste in materials, time and money is vast —costing an estimated US$350 million annually in the United States alone.