A common denominator for successful experiments that use antibodies or RNAi reagents is the associated sequence information, which determines the specificity of these reagents. For antibodies, it’s the sequence of the immunogen that the antibody targets, while for RNAi, it’s the oligonucleotide sequence that binds to the target mRNA.
While essential, the sequence information can often be difficult to find, because only a portion of commercially available antibodies and RNAi reagents have the sequence publicly available (~8% for antibodies based on our analysis). Typically, you would have to parse through numerous vendor websites and product pages just to find an antibody or RNAi reagent with the sequence information disclosed.
To help scientists on BenchSci more efficiently identify the sequence information for antibodies and RNAi reagents, we developed the new Immunogen/Sequence filters to display only products that have this data.
With the new Immunogen/Sequence filter applied, you can copy the full immunogen or oligonucleotide sequence directly from the product results page
Immunogen sequence for antibodies
We get the immunogen information from vendors and display it on the antibody product page. These data also feed our predicted cross-reactivity analysis (read more about it here) which you can use to find new uses for antibodies in your research. The Immunogen filter is found under the Antibody Specs header (see below).
The Immunogen filter exclusively shows antibodies with sequence data
Oligonucleotide sequence for RNAi reagents
RNAi sequences may also come from the vendor, in addition to a feature we’ve been working on which uses our technology to extract RNAi sequences from the literature (more information about the beta feature here). This enables you to leverage access you have to services for custom-oligonucleotides. The Sequence filter is found under the RNAi Specs header (see below).
The Sequence filter exclusively shows RNAi reagents with sequence data
Using the immunogen and oligonucleotide sequence information, along with your knowledge on the target protein or mRNA sequence (for example, if the immunogen sequence would be exposed for binding under native conformation), you can easily determine the specificity of the antibody or the RNAi reagent, and decide if the reagent would more likely to work for your experimental context.
Be sure to take advantage of the new sequence filter feature today so you can be more confident about your reagent selection. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
