Conformational integrity of myoglobin after immunization with Freund's adjuvant

The use of Freund's complete adjuvant for immunizing goats with myoglobin produces mainly antibodies directed against antigenic determinants present in the native protein. Only about 9% of the total antibodies produced are directed toward determinants not expressed in tha native molecule. This shows that neither emulsification nor the subsequent in vivo events leading up to the immune response appreciably perturb the conformation of the protein surface.