Reliable, high-yield purification of antibodies (IgY) from chicken eggs.

Why use IgY?

Chickens produce a unique immunoglobulin molecule called IgY* that can be harvested from the egg yolk. There are many advantages to using these antibodies:

• Unlike mice, rabbits or other mammals, hens elicit a strong antibody response against highly conserved mammalian protein sequences
• Chicken antibodies can be obtained without sacrificing or bleeding the animal – simply collect the eggs and use the Pierce Chicken IgY Purification Kit
• Each yolk can yield 100-150 mg of antibody.
• Chicken IgY has less cross-reactivity toward mammalian proteins – does not bind Fc receptors!

What is the difference between chicken and mammalian antibodies (IgY vs. IgG)?

The terms IgG and IgY are commonly interchanged when speaking of chicken immunoglobulin. Immunoglobulins from chickens and other avian species bear some resemblance to mammailian IgG, but also display some unique structural and functional characteristics that distinguish them from IgG. IgY is the accepted/proper term for chicken antibodies. Chicken IgY is the functional equivalent to mammalian IgG. It is found in the serum of chickens and is passed from the mother chicken to the embryo via the egg yolk, imparting a high concentration of chicken IgY to developing embryo. The "Y" in IgY comes from "yolk" and is the main antibody component in the egg yolk.

Highlights

• More for your money – purifies twice the amount of IgY than the leading competitor’s kit with a lower cost-per-mg of IgY purified
• Higher purity – 85%-95% pure by SDS-PAGE analysis
• Ease-of-use – simple precipitation method pruifies chicken IgY without affinity columns
• Trouble-free method – fewer steps than other IgY purification kits
• Flexibility – eggs can be stored in buffer and purified at a later date
• Convenience – use eggs directly out of refrigerator; no need to wait for them to warm up

Better IgY Purification yield and purity with Thermo Scientific Pierce Chicken IgY Purification Kit. Non-reducing SDS-PAGE analysis of IgY samples. Compared to a pure IgY control sample (Lane 1), results indicate that the IgY purified with Supplier Z Kit was significantly degraded (see bands at 75, 50 and 25K). By contrast the Pierce Chicken IgY Purification Kit gave a high yield of very pure whole IgY (only prominent band is at 150 kDa).

Related Resources:
Pierce Chicken IgY Purification Kit FAQ

IgY-Related Thermo Scientific Pierce and Affinity BioReagents Products

Anti-Chicken Secondary Antibodies
Normal Chicken IgY (RP-86984)
Goat Anti-IgY Antibody, Unlabeled (PA1-28653)
Goat Anti-IgY Antibody, Alkaline Phosphatase Conjugated (PA1-30369)
Goat Anti-IgY Antibody, Horseradish Peroxidase Conjugated (PA1-28658)
Anti-IgY Agarose Resin (SA1-9588)

IgY Purification References

1. Akita, E.M., et al. (1993). J. Immunol. Methods 160, 207.
2. Jayasimha Rao, J., et al. (2003) Biol. Reprod.68, 290-301.
3. Jensenius, J.C., et al. (1981). J. Immunol. Methods 46, 63.
4. Larsson, A., et al. (1993). Poultry Sci. 72, 1807.
5. Larsson, A., et al. (1990). Comp. Immun. Microbiol. Infect. 13, 199.
6. Polson, A., et al. (1985). Immunol. Invest. 14, 323.
7. Sommerville, J., et al. (2005) J. Cell Sci.118, 1299-1307.