20459 Laboratory: Immunology 1
Credits: 2 intermediate credits in Life Sciences
Prerequisite: Immunology
The course was developed by Ruth Lomnitzer and Miriam Souroujon.
This laboratory course provides knowledge, understanding and hands-on experience in laboratory methods utilized in immunological research and in other branches of the life sciences and in medicine.
The materials include theoretical background relevant to the experiments conducted during the course, as well as a collection of protocols that detail the methods, equipment and materials used in the experiments. The course is held at the Open University laboratory and includes seven mandatory sessions as well as lectures for enrichment on the following topics: Treatment, maintenance and use of laboratory animals followed by a demonstration of various immunization methods; The development, production and use of monoclonal antibodies in life sciences and medicine.
Topics: Production and purification of polyclonal antibodies from serum by ammonium sulfate precipitation and by affinity chromatography; Classic and modern techniques for identifying and quantifying antibodies and antigens using gel diffusion, ELISA and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; Cellular immunology – Separation of lymphocytes from mouse spleen, removal of T and A cells, and MLR response; Characterizing and identifying cell populations by their markers and estimating quantity of various cell types by FACS flow cytometry; Development, production and purification of monoclonal antibodies.
1There is some overlap in the content of this and other courses. For details, see Overlapping Courses.