THE INFLUENCE OF THE MOLECULAR WEIGHT OF ANTIGEN ON THE PROPORTION OF ANTIBODY TO ANTIGEN IN PRECIPITATES

Abstract

A statistical examination of the available data on the ratio of antibody to antigen in specific precipitates made at or near the optimum shows a definite correlation between the ratio and the molecular weight of antigen (regression coefficient = –0.529 (±0.014)). The authors' assumption that at this point the antigen molecules are just about covered by a layer of antibody behaving as contiguous spherical ("Svedberg") units of weight 35,200 leads to predicted ratios that in general agree well with those found, though individual experimental determinations may deviate considerably.