DAY 28 - Inject 25 to 50ug subcutaneous with IFA.

DAY 42 - Bleed. About 0.1ml sera for mice and 0.5ml for rats - This bleed will be sent to you along with the preimmune bleed.

DAY 56 - Inject 10 to 25ug subcutaneous with IFA

DAY 63 - Bleed

DAY 70 - Bleed - Day 63 and Day 70 Bleeds are sent to you.

DAY 77 - Inject 10 to 25ug subcutaneous with IFA.

DAY 84 - Bleed

DAY 91 - SELECT ONE OF THE THREE OPTIONS BELOW:
For CLOSED projects - Bleed at day 91 - Rat or Mouse is then euthanized / discard (lowest cost). The bleed is then sent to you, along with the Day 84 bleed.

For CLOSED projects - The Rat or Mouse is exsanguinated (final bleed) at day 91. The exsanguination sera, along with the Day 84 bleed is then sent to you.

For OPEN projects - Bleed - Day 84 and Day 91 Bleeds are sent to you.

AFTER DAY 91 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 91 will be charged according to the Custom Protocol Antibody Production Price Schedule.

EXTENSION A: We will boost every four weeks with 10-25ug of antigen subcutaneous with IFA. We will do a 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 larger 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 animal requires us to stop production bleeds. The volume of serum collected for production bleeds depends on the weight and the general health of the rat or mouse. Generally, bleed volumes will not vary from the bleeds previously drawn. During this time, we boost the animal every four weeks with 10-25ug of antigen subcutaneous 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. Please keep in mind, unlike our other species, rats and mice do not tolerate many cycles of production bleeds.

EXTENSION C: Some investigators prefer to "wait and see." after day 91. 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 rat or mouse is anesthetized and the terminal bleed is taken. For best results, rats and mice should be boosted 10 to 21 days before exsanguination.
2. Discard - termination without sera - the rat or mouse is humanely euthanized.

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

SPLEEN HARVEST: At the time of exsanguination, we are able to harvest the spleens. BALB/c mice and Long Evans rats are used for antibody production. Please specify the conditions of which you want the spleen. Additional charges apply for spleen harvests.

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