Specific antibodies produced against antigens of agar-gel precipitates.

Antisera prepared in rabbits against frog oviducal homogenate produce a minimum of six to nine precipitation bands in agar-gel diffusion plates. Individual bands were isolated from several plates and injected into rabbits to produce antibodies specific to the antigen represented in the precipitate. Bands formed with antigen excess or antibody excess were effective in eliciting an immune response against the antigen. Antibodies produced against the γ-globulin portion of the precipitate were detected in the serum of one-half the rabbits injected. Rats injected with the above isolated precipitates failed to produce antisera specific to individual rabbit antibodies. Agar-gel diffusion and immunoelectrophoresis showed that isolated precipitin bands may be used for the production of specific antisera against a single antigen in a complex mixture.