The General Applications of Monoclonal Antibodies, Their Advantages and Limitations - Essay Example

Monoclonal antibodies are identified as monovalent because they can be produced from any substance, and they will be able to attach themselves to the given substance. They have received usage in the areas of medicine, molecular biology, and biochemistry; when used in the field of medicine, they are identified from the end of the name of the non-proprietary medicine, is identified because it contains –mab in its name.  This paper will explore the general applications of monoclonal antibodies, and the discussion will offer more emphasis on their limitations and advantages.

Discussion

            Monoclonal antibodies are used in the field of medicine for the detection of different varieties of toxins, drugs, or hormones. When used for this general purpose, they are aimed at the target area in the body of the individual. For example, when used to detect or stop the growth of cancer cells, these antibodies are targeted at the specific proteins found on the surfaces of some cancer cells. When injected into the body of the individual, these monoclonal antibodies locate the cancer cells and then attach themselves to the given cancer cells or antigens (Kontermann, 2005). In some cases, they are used on their own and in others conjugated with other substances. When naked monoclonal antibodies are injected into the body, they bind themselves to the target receptors or the antigens found on the cancer cells being targeted (Yarbo, Wujcik, and Gobel, 2011).

            The advantages of using monoclonal antibodies include that when they are used to target some types of cancer cells, they will attach themselves to the particular receptors of the cancer cells, and then they stop the continuation of the growth of cancer cells. Some of the examples used for this purpose of treating cancerous growth include rituximab (Biburger, Weth, and Wels, 2005). Rituximab is used for this curative purpose to treat some types of B-cell on-Hodgkin lymphoma. The second monoclonal antibody type is trastuzumab, which is used for the treatment of HER2-positive cancerous growths on breasts (American Cancer Society, 2008). The disadvantage of using monoclonal antibodies is that they can be attached to toxins, which are made from plants or bacteria. In the case that they are used to transport these toxins, the toxic element is likely to affect the targeted cancer cells as well as the normal cells of the patient (Yarbo, Wujcik, and Gobel, 2011, p. 558-560). Towards resolving this issue, researchers are in the process of researching for antigens that affect the cancerous cells only, and not the normal cells.

            Monoclonal antibodies are used in the medical processes of radioimmunotherapy and radioimmunodetection of cancer, where some of the new variants of the antibodies can be targeted at the cell membranes of the cancerous cells of a patient (Goldenberg et al., 2006). The advantage of monoclonal antibodies when used for this purpose includes that they help in enhancing the background ratios of tumors and they also aid the delivery of higher dosages, as compared to the case when they are directly conjugated for use with other compounds (Rossi et al., 2006). The disadvantages of using monoclonal antibodies in this manner include that the functionality of many of the drugs that have been developed is not approved by health and drug testing organizations. One of the new cancer drugs based on the working of monoclonal antibody technology is Ritoxin, which was approved for use in health institutions, by the FDA in November 1997 (Salvana and Salata, 2009).

            Monoclonal antibodies are used for the treatment of viral diseases that were regarded untreatable (Salvana and Salata, 2009). When used for this application, the advantages of these antibodies are that they assist in routine management, and also assist medical personnel in monitoring the indicators of different conditions. The disadvantage with using these compounds include that they present the challenge of tracking the side effects of administering the compounds to patients (Pilcher, et al., 2004). For example, infectious complications are a common side effect of the procedures; in some cases, the consequences arising from the direct effect of the agents or from the reactivity of the agents with underlying disease processes. One application in this area is that different evidence-based studies show that monoclonal antibodies may offer a cure for AIDS (Zetola and Pilcher, 2007).

Conclusion

            Monoclonal antibodies are formed from identical cloned, immune cells collected from the same parent cell. The applications of these antibodies include that they are used for the detection of toxins, drugs, and hormones in the bodies of patients. They are also used for radioimmunotherapy and radioimmunodetection, through targeting them at the cell membranes of the cancerous cells of a patient, and for the treatment of diseases that cannot be treated using traditional processes. The advantages of using these antibodies include that they can be used to stop cancer cell growth and the disadvantages include that they can affect the cancerous as well as the normal cells of the patient.