Using Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual

This is the second edition of Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual which has been produced ten years after the original and is a welcome update. The most striking difference between the two editions is the scope of the manual (reflected in the slightly altered title): whereas the first edition covered both the making and use of antibodies this one concentrates solely on the latter area. This change has made it possible to produce a manual which includes ten years' worth of advances but which is still possible to lift! The first three chapters give a simple and concise theory of antibody structure and function, antibody–antigen interaction and advice on choosing antibodies for particular applications. Since many researchers who wish to make use of antibodies in their research are not immunologists by training, this is useful information which complements the rest of the manual. The remaining chapters are practical and protocol based. They are dedicated to handling antibodies, staining cells and tissues, immunoprecipitation, immunoblotting, immunoaffinity purification, tagging proteins and epitope mapping. These last two chapters are entirely new, but there are also two chapters in the previous edition which, curiously, are now omitted. These dealt with labelling antibodies and immunoassays, which presumably the editors have now decided were rarely needed or of interest only to the minority. Each of the practical chapters presents one or more protocols with plenty of explanation, tips and trouble-shooting suggestions, so that previous experience of immunochemical methods is unnecessary. The manual is by no means an exhaustive catalogue of alternatives; instead the methods included have been selected as those most useful and most robust. The presentation of the manual—which so often determines its success—has been given careful thought. This is a manual to be used in the laboratory and it is built to withstand this environment. The format is consistent throughout and is designed for easy navigation through each technique. Also, an equivalent condensed protocol for each major technique is provided as a laminated card for quick reference. This is an excellent manual and will serve as a valuable tool in many research settings where immunological methods are required.