Screening for monoclonal antibodies with GEM

Gel Encapsulated Microenvironment (GEM) technology involves isolating single B-cells from an immunized animal into small droplets containing Reporters that present the target antigen on the surface of a bead or cell.

Secreted antibodies diffuse locally and have the opportunity to bind to Reporters, which in turn can be detected through a fluorescent probe. Antigen specificity is determined by colocalization of signal with alternative bead and/or cell types.

Including different types of Reporters in a single experiment can generate a multi-parameter binding profile of each antibody. Millions of GEMs can be queried in parallel in a fluorescence microscopy environment.

GEMs containing B-cells and antibodies of interest can be harvested, cloned, and expressed as recombinant antibodies for further characterization studies.