[Histonet] RTU antibodies with 1+ year expiration date

[Allan Wang]

Hello list,

Thanks for your responses to my previous dehydration question. I pretty
much got conflicting responses about going straight to 100% alcohol, but I
think I will just start them out in 80% alcohol to be safe.

Something that's been bugging me: Every source states that diluted
antibodies shouldn't be kept for more than a few weeks. Yet Ventana
dispensers of pre-diluted antibodies have expiration dates of 1 - 1.5
years, plus they sit out at room temperature for 5 hours at a time whenever
they're used. Ventana provides user-fillable dispensers, but if we dilute
antibodies ourselves and can't use them for more than a few weeks, it would
be kind of pointless for low-volume needs.

Their specs say: "The antibody is diluted in 0.08 M PBS with 3% carrier
protein and 0.05% ProClin 300, a preservative."
Isn't this pretty much the same stuff that antibody diluent is composed of,
except with sodium azide instead of ProClin 300 (I think they're
equivalent).

I'm already planning on doing some long-term testing of my own over a year
with HER-2 and Ki67, but hopefully someone can provide some insight.

Thanks,
Allan Wang