Custom Services

Custom Antibody Services

Custom rabbit polyclonal antibodies built using the same workflow, the same affinity purification, and the same validation approach as our 981-antibody catalog. Most projects run 70–90 days from kickoff to delivery.

Part of: Custom Antibody Production

If your target isn't in our catalog, or if you need a domain-specific antibody we don't offer, Triple Point Biologics builds custom rabbit polyclonal antibodies against research targets you specify. Custom projects use the same production workflow, the same affinity purification, and the same validation approach as our catalog antibodies — the only difference is the immunogen. Most custom projects run 70–90 days from kickoff to delivery.

What we make

Triple Point's custom service is focused on what we do every day: rabbit polyclonal antibodies against protein targets, with optional affinity purification on the immunogen. Within that, we can work from peptide-based immunogens (you provide the sequence; we synthesise and conjugate to KLH or BSA), from recombinant protein you supply, or from full-length protein purified in-house. We're particularly well set up for domain-specific antibodies where you want the antibody to recognise one part of a multi-domain protein and not another — this is what we do for our catalog Superpooled lines, and the workflow transfers to custom projects directly. We do not produce monoclonal antibodies; if your project genuinely requires a monoclonal, we'll be honest about it and refer you elsewhere.

Workflow and timing

A standard rabbit polyclonal project takes 70–90 days from approval to delivery: immunogen design and synthesis (1–3 weeks depending on whether you provide the immunogen or we make it), primary immunisation plus three boosters at 14-day intervals (10 weeks total), test bleed and titre confirmation by ELISA (1 week), terminal bleed and affinity purification (1–2 weeks), QC validation on your sample type (1 week). You receive purified antibody, the immunisation record, the titre data, and the QC validation result. Standard delivery is 1–2 mg purified antibody from a single rabbit; we can scale to multiple rabbits or larger yields on request.

Superpooled formats for custom targets

If your target has multiple structural domains and you want broader epitope coverage in a single reagent — the rationale behind our catalog Superpooled lines — we can build the custom equivalent. The workflow runs in parallel on three to five domain-specific immunogens, then pools the affinity-purified antibodies in a defined ratio at the end. This costs more than a single-immunogen project but delivers a reagent that recognises the target across conformations and activation states. The methodology is documented in detail on the Superpooled antibody page.

Pricing and quotes

Custom project pricing depends on the immunogen format, number of rabbits, purification complexity, and total yield. We provide written quotes within five business days of receiving project details; quotes are valid for 30 days and break out each cost line so you can see what you're paying for. There are no hidden fees, no setup charges, and no charges for protocol consultation. Submit a quote request via the contact form with your target protein, intended applications, sample type, and rough yield requirement.

Confidentiality and IP

Standard NDAs are signed before any technical details are exchanged for projects involving novel or unpublished targets. The customer retains all rights to the antibody at project end — Triple Point does not retain rights, does not catalog custom antibodies without explicit permission, and will destroy residual material on request. For projects funded under restricted-data grants, we can work within institutional MTA requirements.

Related

Custom Recombinant Protein Production

When a catalog protein does not exist for your target — or when the available lots lack the activity data, purity grade, or species variant your experiment requires — Triple Point Biologics produces custom recombinant proteins to specification. Our production work is focused on proteinases and their endogenous inhibitors: MMPs, ADAMs, cathepsins, granzymes, kallikreins, serpins, cystatins, and structurally related ECM proteins. We have been producing proteins in this class since 1994, which predates most commercial recombinant catalogs by a decade or more. If your target falls within that scope, contact us for a project quote.

Production Workflow

All custom recombinant proteins follow a defined, sequential workflow:

  1. Codon-optimized construct design. The coding sequence for your target domain — typically the mature processed form, a zymogen, or a defined catalytic/inhibitory domain — is codon-optimized for human HEK293 expression and synthesized as a sequence-verified insert.
  2. HEK293 transient transfection. HEK293 cells are our primary expression system. Mammalian expression preserves native N- and O-linked glycosylation patterns critical to the folding, stability, and substrate interactions of many proteinases. For targets that require it, this matters: bacterially expressed MMPs, for example, routinely misfold without the post-translational processing that a mammalian host provides.
  3. Affinity purification. Conditioned medium is harvested and the protein is purified by affinity chromatography, with downstream polishing steps selected by target. Typical purity exceeds 90% by reducing SDS-PAGE.
  4. QC panel and Certificate of Analysis. Every lot is released against a defined QC panel: reducing SDS-PAGE with densitometric purity estimate, LAL endotoxin assay, and a target-appropriate activity assay (fluorogenic substrate cleavage for proteases; inhibition kinetics for serpins and cystatins where applicable). A Certificate of Analysis is provided with each delivery.

Standard project timeline is 8–12 weeks from confirmed purchase order to delivery, subject to construct complexity and expression yield at the transfection stage.

Matched-Pair Option: Custom Recombinant Protein + Custom Antibody from One Project

For many proteinase targets, researchers need both a recombinant protein standard and a specific antibody — for activity assays, Western blot normalization, IHC localization, or immunodepletion. These are typically sourced from separate suppliers, with no guarantee the antibody was raised against, or validated with, the same protein variant the researcher is working with.

Triple Point Biologics runs both workflows in-house. On a matched-pair project, the custom recombinant protein produced in Phase 1 is used directly as the immunogen for a custom rabbit polyclonal antibody raised in Phase 2. The recombinant lot is then used as the QC antigen when the final antibody is characterized — so Western blot and IHC validation data are generated against the exact protein construct the antibody was raised against. Lot-to-lot compatibility between your protein standard and your detection antibody is documented in the CoA, not assumed.

No other recombinant protein supplier offers this matched-pair custom workflow as a single project. Researchers who need both reagents for a new target typically save 4–6 weeks compared with running sequential projects through separate vendors.

What We Produce — and What We Do Not

Our production expertise is specific. We accept custom projects for:

  • Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their endogenous inhibitors (TIMPs)
  • ADAM and ADAMTS family members
  • Cysteine cathepsins and related papain-family proteinases
  • Serine proteinases: granzymes, kallikreins, and related family members
  • Serine proteinase inhibitors (serpins)
  • Cysteine proteinase inhibitors (cystatins, stefins)
  • ECM structural proteins and binding domains relevant to proteinase biology (e.g., fibronectin fragments, laminin domains)

We do not currently accept custom projects for cytokines, growth factors, receptor ectodomains unrelated to proteinase biology, or antibody-format proteins (Fab, scFv, IgG). Inquiries outside our stated scope will be declined rather than redirected to a third party — we prefer to be direct about what we do well.

Starting a Custom Project: What to Provide

Custom recombinant protein production is priced per project, not as a catalog transaction. To generate an accurate quote, we need the following information:

  • Target identity: UniProt accession or NCBI RefSeq, species, and isoform if applicable
  • Construct boundaries: the domain or residue range you need expressed (mature form, zymogen, catalytic domain only, etc.). If you are uncertain, note that — we can recommend based on published structural and activity data for that family.
  • Required quantity and purity grade for your intended application
  • Downstream application(s): activity assay substrate, structural studies, antibody production, etc. — this determines which QC assays are relevant
  • Whether the matched-pair antibody option is of interest
  • Timeline constraints, if any

Submit an inquiry through the project request form or contact us directly. A member of the scientific team — not a sales coordinator — will respond to scope your project.