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Antibody

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology
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Antibody is a complex protein (immunoglobulin) produced as a response to a chemical agent (antigen) as a part of a defensive system (immune system) in multicellular animals. The combination of antibody and antigen is specific (albeit not necessarily absolute), non-covalent, and reversible. There are many methodological applications of antibodies, either as a heterogeneous population of immunoglobulins (polyclonal antibodies) or as a homogeneous preparation (monoclonal antibodies). Antibodies show a broad applicability in biotechnology, including the development of affinity biosensors.

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Correspondence to Juli Peretó .

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Peretó, J. (2014). Antibody. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_343-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_343-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

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