ABSTRACT
Affinity chromatography has become extremely popular in recent years as a means of achieving the purification of a specific product from often complex mixtures. Affinity chromatography methods rely on the use of solid-phase matrices to which an appropriate affinity ligand is coupled. A variety of species can be introduced into the elution buffer to bring about chaotropic conditions. Classical methods of biochemical analysis, including immunoassay, are based on liquid-phase chemical reaction systems. In surface plasmon resonance, a metal-coated glass optical device is used where a totally internally reflected light beam excites an induced surface electromagnetic wave or plasmon. Classically, antibodies are recognized as being functional simply in terms of their ability to bind antigen and hence act as an adapter molecule to bring into play the killing mechanisms of the immune response. The epitope specificity of monoclonal antibodies permits them to be used as reagents for the immunological characterization of the molecule to which they have been produced.
