What is the use of the pre-immune serum?
Evaluation of pre-immune serum for a particular application permits the selection of the animal whose pre-immune serum gives the lowest background for the subsequent production of antibodies. The criterion for selection is no-signal when used in the procedure (eg no band Western Blot) due to the presence of previously generated antibodies. Pre-screening is particularly important when making antibodies against common bacterial, viral or common allergens. We recommend screening 5 to 10 animals and selecting the best for immunization.