New to Antibody Storage and Dilution

[Turbanella]

I just received an antibody for Neurofilament 200 (0.2ml) from Sigma. They recommend storage of frozen, undiluted aliquots, and a minimum working dilution of 1:400. I'm considering storing a quantity of 40 microcentrifuge vials each containing 5 ul, although such a small volume is barely noticeable. Does this sound reasonable, or perhaps a larger (10 ul) volume is better. Thanks
Rick

[susan]

Rick,

I think 10 ul each tube is better than 5 ul each. If you are afraid of wasting antibody. I suggest to use primary antibody dilution buffer to dilute your antibody and it can be stored at 4 C for at least 6 month I have been using this buffer and it works well. Here is the link for the recipe:

http://www.ihcworld.com/_protocols/antibody_diluents/ab_dilution_buffer.htm

I sometimes dilute antibody 1:10 with PBS and then aliquote in a larger volume.

Susan