Members
Johanna Symmons
Name of the laboratory
- English & Scientific Consulting Kft. (SCICONS)
- Üllői út 25
- 1091 Budapest, Hungary
- +36/1/951-6420
Members of the laboratory
- Co-Founder and CEO
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Johanna Symmons
Laboratory activity
English & Scientific Consulting Kft., also known as SCICONS, is a small family-owned company from Hungary, that focuses on the production of four speciality mouse monoclonal antibodies (J2, K1, K2 and J5) that bind double-stranded RNA molecules (rather than protein).
All four antibodies recognise dsRNA > 30bp in length in a sequence-independent manner and were first described in a publication by Schönborn et al. in 1991. SCICONS began distributing anti-dsRNA monoclonal antibodies J2, K1 and K2 in 2005, and J5 in 2015. The antibodies differ in fine specificity and in their preferred application, with J2 being the gold standard for dsRNA detection in immunofluorescence studies.
With these antibodies SCICONS provides the research community with reliable, high-quality tools to study dsRNA in situ and in vitro. The anti-dsRNA antibodies are mainly used by virologists to investigate the intracellular biology (location, interaction with host factors) of diverse animal and plant viruses, including human pathogens such as Dengue, Hepatitis C, Chikungunya, SARS-CoV and Zika Virus. Other applications include their use in the emerging field of dsRNAome studies, and as agents to monitor the purity of therapeutic synthetic RNAs. The use of SCICONS’ anti-dsRNA antibodies is documented by over 400 scientific articles.
Techniques available
- mouse monoclonal antibody production
- antibody purification techniques
- immunological detection of nucleic acids (ELISA and blotting techniques, dot-spot)
- antibody engineering
- labeling techniques