Accidentally left some serum out overnight at room temp.... - (May/08/2013 )

I know, bonehead mistake! I think I already know the answer to this, but it would be helpful for some feedback. I ran an ELISA on some serum obtained from immunized mice, and I left it out at room temp. I'm guessing this serum can't be used for any future experiments, but I'm not sure. Its not the end of the world, but I was hoping to run a follow up experiment. Thanks for the help.

Yeah, not a good idea, many antibodies are pretty unstable. General rule is "if in doubt, throw it out" This applies pretty much anywhere in lab work, as if you start doubting the results you got because you know you made a mistake somewhere, you are going to have to repeat it anyway with the good reagent etc, so throw out the bad one and do it again...

Good point. Thanks for the advice.

When in doubt throw it out is always good advice and I would be concerned about contamination leaving serum at RT overnight. However, the antibody would most likely be fine and stable. Most antibodies are very stable in serum and they are fine at warmer temperatures (as it is their natural environment). The stability is more of a concern once it has been purified and even then there is probably less concern about a 18hr at room temp then there would be about a freeze-thaw cycle.