Submission FAQ

Antibodypedia use and registration

• Must I pay to use Antibodypedia?
  • We have no plans to charge either users or antibody providers to access site content or upload data or reagent listings.
• Must I register to use Antibodypedia?
  • Registration is only necessary in the event that you wish to submit data or antibody listings and is free-of-charge. No content is hidden from non-registered (or non-logged-in) users apart from our manuscript tracking system.

Data submission to Antibodypedia

• Why should I submit data to Antibodypedia?
  • Antibodypedia is a searchable, open-access resource reporting data and commentary on the efficacy of publicly available antibodies which detect human protein targets. We are attempting to assemble a compendium of data on antibody functioning across a range of biochemical and biomedical applications. We compile data from providers and the literature; however, we also need the assistance of the research community to gain a comprehensive picture of antibody effectiveness. Making your experimental data available permits others to access information to inform both their antibody choice and their experimental setup.
• Which antibodies can be found in Antibodypedia?
  • We will list any publicly available primary antibodies as long as they have reactivity against human targets or mouse targets with a human cognate (unfortunately we do not list antibodies against epitope tags or secondary antibodies). Antibodies against non-human targets are acceptable as long as they detect an orthologous human antigen. Antibody providers must submit their inventories to us in order for reagents to appear in Antibodypedia. If you cannot find a record for a particular antibody, please let us know so that we can contact the provider and encourage them to list antibodies with us.
• What types of submissions does Antibodypedia accept?
  • Antibodypedia’s manuscript tracking system is configured to accept three types of submissions. You can submit validation data, comments or information on references citing Antibodypedia antibodies at the 'Validate' tab. Although we currently list antibodies only against human targets and their mouse orthologues, we are happy to accept submissions for experiments performed in other systems in the event that a target's sequence is conserved. 
  • Please note that data submissions will be subject to peer review by our experts before posting; comments will be moderated to ensure their scientific relevance.
  • Data submissions: ‘data’ submissions are those validating or invalidating antibody efficacy in a particular experimental category. Submissions should consist of a data image and some experimental details (information about submitting your work can be found here). You will be asked to state whether your data are supportive or non-supportive of antibody functionality and to describe (briefly) the reasons for this conclusion. Publication-quality images are not necessary.
  • Comment submissions: a ‘comment’ need not include data images. It might describe alternate conditions for an antibody’s use in a particular application, provide information about a specific antibody lot number, or give details of antibody use in an application category not featured in Antibodypedia. Comments may, but need not, refer to others’ validations published on-site.
  • Reference submissions: we search for published papers citing Antibodypedia antibodies and link them to antibody pages on-site. However, many journals do not require that antibody product numbers be specified in Materials and Methods sections, such that not all papers can be retrieved. If you are aware of research using any reagents listed at Antibodypedia, please advise us of its digital object identifier (DOI) or PubMed ID or provide us with the citation and we will gladly link it to the relevant entry.
• Why should I submit a protocol?
  • We hope that all users will submit sufficient experimental details with their data to allow others to perform a similar experiment with the same antibody. Optimally users will submit their complete experimental procedures to the open-access web resource Protocol Exchange (www.nature.com/protocolexchange); we can link to your protocol from within Antibodypedia.
• Why are data peer-reviewed upon submission to Antibodypedia?
  • We review data to ensure that submissions conform to quality standards. Principally we are concerned that users be able to interpret each other’s data images accurately: therefore, it is essential that submissions include controls and experimental details (especially where results do not appear to support antibody efficacy).
• Can data be rejected from publication at Antibodypedia?
  • Data which do not conform to quality standards may be rejected if they do not provide useful information about antibody behaviour. For instance, a blank western blot does not provide sufficient proof that an antibody does not work.
• How can I submit my data to Antibodypedia?
  • You can submit antibodies, comments, and references at the 'Validate' tab.
• Can my submission be cited by other users?
  • Data published at Antibodypedia will be issued with digital object identifiers (DOIs) to facilitate their citation by other users. We are registered with CrossRef and have the DOI prefix 10.7720.
• Can others comment on my submissions/ can I comment on others’ submissions?
  • Comments on all data will be accepted; however, please note that they will be pre-moderated for relevance and appropriateness before posting.
• Which antibody-related applications are supported?
  • A list of supported applications can be found on-site and may change based on user feedback. We currently accept data for Western blot, ELISA, Immunocytochemistry, Immunoprecipitation, Immunohistochemistry, Flow cytometry, Protein array, Blocking/Neutralizing, Immunoelectron microscopy, Functional assay, Gel shift, Radioimmunoassay, Proximity ligation assay, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation, and Reverse phase protein array.
• Can I submit data for antibodies not currently in Antibodypedia?
  • We can accept data for antibodies not listed at Antibodypedia; however, we will not be able to publish these data until we have received listing information from the antibody provider.
• Under what license are submitted data published?
  • Restrictions to the reuse of data published in Antibodypedia is described under Terms and Conditions, 2. Using the Site. Please see Terms and Conditions for complete information on licensing and re-use policies.

Searching Antibodypedia

• How can I search for antibodies in Antibodypedia?
  • Search help (with examples) is posted in the Search help section.
• How can I search for antibodies which detect non-human antigens?
  • You can currently find information about antibody reactivity by clicking on the link to ‘show additional columns’ on the search results page and checking the ‘reactivity’ box; you can filter on antibody reactivity by selecting options from the 'reactivity' filter on the left side of the search results page.