Studies on the Heterogeneity of the Rate of Combination of Antibody with Antigen

Abstract

By means of separating antisera into fractions with different rates of association, it has been demonstrated that rabbit anti-BSA is heterogeneous with respect to its rate of combination with antigen. This separation was accomplished by: a) fractionation according to total molecular charge; b) rapid, partial absorption with a particulate BSA preparation; c) partial in vivo clearance of anti-BSA with antigen. It was possible to select antibody molecules on the basis of their combination rate without a significant alteration in the dissociation rate, thereby indicating that these two processes are, at least in part, independent of each other.