Antibody - Biological warfare agents

An antibody (Ab), also known as immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large Y-shape protein consisting of two heavy chains and two light chains (Figure 1) which form a functionally bivalent monomer that is produced by B cells receptor used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as bacteria and viruses. Current widely used rapid detection systems exploit antibodies for recognition, identification and quantification of target analytes [68]. Abs played an important role in the advancement of diagnostic assays, making these indispensable in diagnostic tests that are commonly used routinely in clinics in classical immunological methods such as ELISA, dot blot immunobinding assays, electro-chemiluminescence, flow cytometry and several microscopic techniques like fluorescence, as well as in the construction of numerous immunosensors. Immunoglobulin M (IgM) usually exists as a pentamer in mammals that predominates in primary immune responses to most antigens, and is the most efficient complement fixing immunoglobulin. It comprises approximately 10% of all normal human serum Ig content. IgM is mainly produced by the immune system for protection against numerous viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections.