DAY 0 - Preimmune Bleed, 3 to 4ml of sera. Preimmune bleed is stored until the first immune bleed is sent.

Inject 200ug intramuscular in Complete Freund's Adjuvant (FCA). Antigen supply should be 1mg/ml or higher.

DAY 14 - Inject 100ug intramuscular in Incomplete Freund's Adjuvant (IFA)

DAY 28 - Inject 100ug intramuscular with IFA.

DAY 42 - Bleed, 3 to 5ml sera - This bleed will be sent to you along with the preimmune bleed.

DAY 56 - Inject 50ug intramuscular with IFA

DAY 70 - SELECT ONE OF THE THREE OPTIONS BELOW:

For CLOSED projects - Bleed at day 70 - guinea pig is then euthanized / discard (lowest cost). The bleed is then sent to you.

For CLOSED projects - The guinea pig is exsanguinated (final bleed) at day 70. The exsanguination sera is then sent to you.

For OPEN projects - Bleed - This bleed is then sent to you.

AFTER DAY 70 FOR OPEN PROJECTS - You may select one of the project extensions below. If you do not specify a project extension, we will automatically begin Extension A. Keep in mind that all procedures and maintenance after day 70 will be charged according to the Custom Polyclonal Antibody Production Price Schedule.

EXTENSION A: We will boost every four weeks with 25-50ug of antigen intramuscular with IFA. We will do a large bleed two weeks after each boost and ship. We will continue to boost and bleed every four weeks until you contact us.

EXTENSION B: When the antisera contains sufficient antibody titer and large volumes of sera are needed, we can start production bleeds. We do production bleeds every seven days. We will continue with production bleeds until you contact us or the health of the guinea pig requires us to stop production bleeds. The volume of serum collected for large or production bleeds depends on the weight and the general health of the guinea pig. We generally take 8ml of blood yielding 3 to 4ml of serum. During this time, we boost the guinea pigs every four weeks with 25-50ug of antigen intramuscular with IFA. You may also request that we not do any boosts after the initial immunization scheme outlined above since some antigens and some animals may respond negatively to boosts during the period of peak antibody activity. Boosts may be required only when titer drops. It is up to the investigator to decide and let us know if we should discontinue boosts as our standard schedule provides for boosts every 28 days. Shipping for production bleeds is every four weeks unless you request otherwise.

EXTENSION C: Some investigators prefer to "wait and see." after day 70. Extension C is hold without boosting and bleeding. We will hold until you tell us to do something else.

TERMINATION: When you have collected enough antisera, you will need to contact us to terminate the project. You may request that we terminate by:
1. Exsanguination - termination with sera - the guinea pig is anesthetized and the terminal bleed is taken. For best results, guinea pigs should be boosted 10 to 21 days before exsanguination.
2. Discard - termination without sera - the guinea pig is humanely euthanized.

When requesting termination, you must confirm the species and animal number. Written confirmation by email may be requested for terminal procedures.

CUSTOM EXTENSION: You may design your own project extension. Let us know what we can do for you!