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

The Thermo Scientific Pierce IgY Purification Kit provides a convenient method for purifying chicken immunoglobulin (IgY) from egg yolks with a simple delipidation and fractionation process.

Highlights of the Pierce Chicken IgY Purification Kit:

• 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 purifies 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

About the Pierce Chicken IgY Purification Kit

Affinity chromatography with Protein A or Protein G cannot be used to purify IgY from chicken serum or egg yolk because this species of immunoglobulins are not recognized by the Protein A, G or L binding sites. However, the Pierce Chicken IgY Purification Kit provides a simple and reliable method for recovering large amounts of chicken IgY from egg yolk with our unique delipidation reagent that separates the proteins from lipid. (The egg yolk can be stored in the delipidation reagent a year or longer before processing.) After lipid separation, simply mix the sample with the IgY Precipitation Reagent which causes the IgY to separate from the lipid fraction during centrifugation. The chicken IgY is then easily recovered.

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

The terms IgG and IgY are commonly interchanged when referring to chicken immunoglobulin. Immunoglobulins from chickens and other avian species bear some resemblance to mammalian 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.

Chicken IgY immunoglobulins can be harvested from the egg yolk as well as serum and blood. 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 100-150mg of antibody.
• Chicken IgY has less cross-reactivity toward mammalian proteins – does not bind Fc receptors!

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).

References for IgY:

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.

Related Resources:
Pierce Chicken IgY Purification Kit FAQ

Related 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)