Isotype Controls

Primary Antibodies

Isotype Controls

Negative controls matched to your primary antibody's host, isotype and conjugate

Isotype controls are run alongside a primary antibody to help distinguish signal from non-specific background binding. Matched to the host species, immunoglobulin isotype and conjugation of the primary antibody, they support interpretation of flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry, ELISA and western blot data, particularly when working with weak or low abundance targets.

How it works

What isotype controls measure

An isotype control antibody has no specificity for the target antigen, but shares the same host species, immunoglobulin class and subclass, and conjugation format as the primary antibody it is paired with. Run in parallel at a matched concentration, any signal produced by the isotype control reflects non-specific binding rather than antigen recognition, giving researchers a baseline against which the primary antibody's signal can be assessed.

Category benefits

Why use isotype controls?

✓ Matched host, isotype and conjugate
Selected to correspond to the primary antibody's host species, immunoglobulin isotype and conjugation format, so any background reading reflects antibody class binding rather than target-specific signal.
✓ Supports accurate gating
In flow cytometry, provides a defined negative population against which positive gates can be set, helping avoid over- or under-inclusive gating.
✓ Clarifies weak or low-abundance signals
Helps determine whether a signal reflects genuine low-level target expression or non-specific background, which matters most when the target is weakly expressed.
✓ Monoclonal and polyclonal formats
Our range spans monoclonal and polyclonal isotype controls, so a matching clonality is available for the primary antibody being used.
Where they're used

Typical applications

✓ Flow cytometry
Run as a gating control to establish the boundary of the negative population before defining positive events.
✓ Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence
Applied to parallel tissue or cell sections to check for non-specific background staining, including binding not related to the target antigen.
✓ ELISA
Included as a control well to verify that plate signal is not arising from non-specific antibody binding to the coated antigen.
✓ Antibody panel screening and assay development
Used during assay development and validation to confirm specificity before drawing conclusions from a new antibody panel.

Need help matching an isotype control?

Contact our technical support team to confirm the correct host species, isotype and conjugate match for your primary antibody.

Looking for more primary antibodies?

Our primary antibody range spans monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies across multiple host species and conjugation formats.

 Browse primary antibodies

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

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