Antibodies and reagents

Buying guide

What decides a reagent purchase?

With antibodies and reagents, the question that settles the purchase is not the format of the vial but whether the material will do what the protocol asks of it. An antibody validated for western blotting may perform poorly in flow cytometry, and a cell line authenticated for one passage history behaves nothing like the same line after forty passages. So the first thing to pin down is the intended application, and from there the host species, the clonality, the conjugate, and the lot. Everything else on the datasheet follows from that one decision.

That emphasis on provenance is what makes condition unusual in this category. Most laboratory equipment is mechanical, and a used unit is judged on wear. A reagent is judged on whether it is still active and still what the label says. On a used listing, the points to verify are the storage history, the remaining shelf life, the lot number against any published validation, and for cells the authentication and mycoplasma status. A reagent that has been through an uncontrolled freeze-thaw cycle can be worthless whatever the datasheet once promised, so the chain of custody matters more here than any specification.

Price in this category spans an enormous range, because the heading holds both a single antibody aliquot and a complete cell isolation system. A buyer will see cost run from EUR 12 to EUR 172.178. That spread covers everything from a budget consumable a single project can absorb to instrument-grade kits that need a capital line. Refurbished and used items listed for sale sit below their new equivalents, so a buyer working to a fixed budget can often find the same reagent family listed at a lower figure from a verified supplier. Where warranty or support matters on the instrument-grade listings, those terms are arranged in consultation against the specific listing rather than set across the catalogue, so the individual listing is where the real comparison happens. The 19 suppliers behind these listings include large reagent houses, which makes a given antibody clone straightforward to compare across sources.

Types of Antibodies and reagents

Primary and cultured cells

Primary and cultured cells are the living material a reagent protocol is tested on, and this is the largest group among the listings that specify a type. The distinction within it is between primary cells, taken directly from tissue and limited in how many times they divide, and established cell lines that proliferate indefinitely. Researchers in cell culture reach for established lines when they need a reproducible, scalable population, and for primary cells when physiological fidelity matters more than longevity. These populations underpin cell imaging, drug screening and the whole of functional cell biology, and much of molecular diagnostics development begins with a characterised line.

Immunohistochemistry

Immunohistochemistry reagents stain specific proteins in intact tissue sections, so that a pathologist or researcher can see where a target sits within the architecture of a sample rather than merely that it is present. The group covers the primary and secondary antibodies, the detection systems and the counterstains that make up a histology workflow. What separates these from blotting reagents is that the antibody must work on fixed, often paraffin-embedded tissue, a far harsher context than a lysate. Immunohistochemistry is central to histology and to tissue-based molecular diagnostics, and a buyer specifies antibodies validated for formalin-fixed material.

Genome editing and molecular tools

Genome editing and molecular tools are the enzymes, guide constructs and delivery reagents used to cut, insert or rewrite DNA. The group spans CRISPR components, nucleases, ligases and the cloning kits that assemble them. What distinguishes these reagents is that they act on nucleic acids rather than detecting proteins, so sequence specificity and enzymatic activity are the figures that matter. They are the working materials of gene editing and synthetic biology, and feed into the construction work behind biomanufacturing and much of molecular biology, where a research group builds and modifies the genetic parts a project depends on.

Western blotting

Western blotting reagents separate proteins by size, transfer them to a membrane and probe them with target-specific antibodies. The group holds the gels, transfer buffers, blocking agents and the primary and secondary antibodies that produce a band. What sets them apart from immunohistochemistry reagents is that the protein is denatured and immobilised on a membrane, so an antibody validated for blotting may recognise a linear epitope it would miss in intact tissue. Electrophoresis and protein purification workflows lean on these materials, and western blotting remains a standard confirmation step across proteomics and molecular biology.

Flow cytometry antibodies

Flow cytometry antibodies are conjugated to fluorescent dyes so that individual cells can be counted and sorted by the markers on their surface. The group is defined by its conjugates, since a panel is built by matching each antibody to a fluorophore the instrument can resolve without spectral overlap. That conjugate choice, rather than the antibody clone alone, is what a buyer specifies here. Flow cytometry sits at the centre of immunology and haematology, and these antibodies drive immunophenotyping, cell sorting and the single-cell analysis behind much of cell biology and molecular diagnostics.

Immunofluorescence

Immunofluorescence reagents attach a fluorescent label to a target antibody so that the protein can be located by microscope within a fixed cell or tissue. The group overlaps with immunohistochemistry in intent but differs in detection: the signal is read as fluorescence under a microscope rather than as a coloured precipitate. That makes it the natural choice when several targets must be imaged at once in different colours. Immunofluorescence underpins cell imaging and subcellular localisation studies, and is a routine tool across cell biology and the microscopy side of molecular diagnostics.

Cell isolation equipment

Cell isolation equipment separates a wanted cell population from a mixed sample, using magnetic beads, antibody coatings or density gradients. The group differs from the antibody reagents around it because it includes the hardware and the consumable kits that physically partition cells rather than label them. A buyer chooses between positive selection, which tags and retains the target, and negative selection, which removes everything else. This equipment is foundational to immunology and to any cell culture or bioprocessing workflow that needs a pure starting population, and it feeds directly into downstream immunoassay and functional work.

Cell culture media and reagents

Cell culture media and reagents are the nutrient formulations, sera, supplements and buffers that keep cells alive and growing. This is the smallest group among the listings that specify a type, and it is defined by chemistry rather than by a target: the formulation determines which cell type will thrive and how it behaves. The distinction a buyer draws is between serum-containing and defined, serum-free media, the latter demanded wherever reproducibility or regulatory clarity matters. These reagents support all of cell culture and are the quiet foundation beneath bioprocessing, biomanufacturing and cell-based immunoassay work.