Freezing Antibodies...

[CC]

In article <2lrnjr$f9b at quartz.ucs.ualberta.ca>,
asimmond at gpu.srv.ualberta.ca (Andrew Simmonds) wrote:

> package insert makes a brief reference to storage at -20C.  Now anything 
> I have heard leads me to believe that the proper storage is at +4C... 
>  BM mentions a 2 month shelf life at +4C once reconstituted but can I indeed 
> store part of the mix at -20C and in doing so store it for longer?  

If you reconstitute the antibody in 50% glycerol (the standard protocol for
the Ab.s we buy from Kirk. and Perry) they won't freeze at -20C (which is
how we store them).  It is the ice crystal formation which really seems to
mess them up, so lower temp. w/ no phase change isn't a problem.  I would
guess that one freeze-thaw cycle wouldn't hurt too much if you just want to
aliquot and freeze, but I haven't tried it.
                -- CC