Efficient methods for production of monoclonal antibodies for forensic applications

To simplify the labor-intensive process of making hybridomas, we fused popliteal lymph node cells, used an autoclavable serum-free culture medium throughout, and cloned hybridomas with human blood cell feeders. To make the best possible use of the serum-free medium, we adapted mouse myeloma cells to it. Using as little as 0.2 ml of human blood per culture plate, we successfully cloned hybridomas and established a hybrid cell line producing anti-peroxidase antibody. Our protocol affords a considerable saving on time, labor, and cost, and hopefully will encourage the forensic scientist to undertake the production of monoclonal antibodies.