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A widespread failure to validate research antibodies before use is estimated to lead to the avoidable waste of millions of animal and human tissue samples worldwide, and an international expert panel has reached consensus on how to address the problem, according to two studies published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Harvinder Virk of the University of Leicester, U.K., and colleagues.

Antibodies are critical reagents that enable researchers to detect, quantify and isolate specific proteins in biological samples. However, research antibodies do not always bind their intended targets or may bind additional unintended targets. Studies have suggested that many antibodies do not bind as advertised. This lack of specificity can misdirect biomedical research across fields.

In the first study, Virk and first author Michael Biddle combined data from focus groups (12 researchers), a survey (107 researchers) and an analysis of 785 publications linked to antibodies that had failed rigorous, knockout-controlled testing.

Among 760 publications where validation status could be determined, only 120 (15.8%) presented any validation evidence, despite 72.0% of surveyed researchers reporting having used at least one recommended validation method. The papers lacking antibody validation used a minimum of 8,064 animal samples and 4,424 human tissue samples.

Extrapolating, the researchers estimate that millions of animal and human tissue samples have been consumed globally without adequate validation.

"This study provides, to our knowledge, the first systematic quantification of biological sample waste attributable to the use of poorly performing antibodies without context-specific validation," the researchers say.

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