Abstract:
The isolation of polyclonal antibodies from the serum of immunized mammals has significantly contributed
to scientific research and diagnosis. The fact that recent technologies allow the production of
antibodies in the yolk of eggs laid by hens, has led to the development of an alternative method for antibody
generation that is less stressful to animals. As hens are kept under almost all their natural conditions,
antibodies are isolated from the collected eggs; this technology is expected to become an
interesting alternative to the conventionally serum-based techniques that eventually require to sacrifice
the animal.
Here we present a modified protocol for the isolation of IgY antibodies from immunized chickens and
provide comparison between two chicken breeds in relative to IgY yield per egg. Our results show the
possibility of generating large quantities of highly pure IgY from chicken eggs and also show large differences
in the yield of IgY production between the two studied breeds. The results of this work indicate that
IgY technology can be used for the production of primary antibodies for immunological work and disease
diagnosis.
