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Antibodies: the most frequently used research tool in the lab

Antibodies are one of the most used tools in any life sciences laboratory; a survey conducted by The Scientist in 2012 revealed that 88% of laboratories use research antibodies. It is therefore not surprising that the market for antibodies and the number of companies selling them has grown rapidly in the last decade. However, with all these different antibodies to choose from, there is one major problem: how do researchers know whether the antibody they are about to purchase will actually work in their experimental set-up?
Antibody validation is crucial to provide the information researchers need in order to reliably interpret the results of their experiments. Validating an antibody is important work, and it is both expensive and time-consuming. Yet the results of these validation studies rarely get published.
To encourage researchers and companies to validate antibodies and share their results with the scientific community, F1000Research, together with Guest-Editors Andrew Chalmers (lecturer at the University of Bath and co-founder of CiteAb), Matt Helsby (CiteAb), and Mei Leung (St John’s laboratory), have launched a unique and permanent Article Collection dedicated to Antibody Validation studies. The collection is supported by an international Editorial Board, containing leading experts in the antibody field from top research institutes and companies.

The F1000Research Antibody Validation Collection

The Antibody Validation Collection aims to provide a platform where researchers and companies can both publish their antibody validation studies regardless of the outcome, and look up existing validation articles for antibodies or experimental setups of their interest. In this way, we hope to enhance the reliability and reproducibility of antibodies in scientific research.
Referees reviewing validation studies will not focus on novelty and impact, but rather on whether the study is scientifically sound and provides all the relevant information.

F1000Research accepts a variety of validation studies:

• New antibodies; either against a new target or a new antibody raised against an existing target.
• New applications for existing antibodies; either in a new biological system or a new application tested within an existing/previously tested biological system.
• Existing antibodies applied to a new biological system; new organism/tissue/cell type.
• Validations of previously tested antibodies that are carried out in more depth than before, in one or more applications.
• Validations of groups of antibodies raised against the same target.
• Antibodies that failed to meet the validation criteria.
• Replication studies that confirm or dispute previously published validations.

Working together to make antibodies better

In order to push antibody research forward and bridge the gap between researchers and manufacturers, St. John’s laboratory recently organized the world’s first International Antibody Validation Forum. Here, academic and industry representatives discussed what makes a good antibody validation, and how to increase the reliability of antibody resources. It was at this point F1000Research officially launched the Antibody Validation Collection and announced any antibody validation data can be published free of charge until March 2015. A customized set of Author Guidelines has been created to ensure that validation articles published in the collection will be useful for the wider scientific community.

It was discerned that if industry and academia work together to provide information on antibody validations the scientific community as whole will benefit and valuable time and resources can be spared. By working in synergy, it will be easier for researchers to find reliable antibody information and easier for manufacturers to gain the trust of their customers when validation efforts are openly and publicly shared. The one thing that was missing for this to happen is a central place for this detailed information and data to be easily disseminated, hence the creation of the collection. By publishing details of how validation studies are carried out and having them peer reviewed provides a valuable tool for researchers looking for the best way to validate an antibody for their own experimental setups. Formal publication also allows scientists doing these validations (which can be onerous and time consuming) to get some tangible credit for their efforts through a recognised citation.

Let’s build a community

The Antibody Validation Collection has been set up for the needs of the scientific community and we want to be inclusive as possible and encourage participation from everyone involved in using, validating and manufacturing antibodies. So, if you have any thoughts on the collection or if you would like to join the editorial board please let us know, your suggestions will be most welcome!

What chimed loudest at the forum and from speaking to both academics and researchers was that a good, reliable antibody validation will help make future research publications more replicable and reliable; by providing detailed protocols, robust methodologies and full datasets we can start to provide the confidence that is desired when buying or using an antibody – and that can only be a good thing.