Antibody FAQ’s

Q: How do I place an order?

Q: What are the prices of your antibodies?

Q: What countries do you ship to?

Q: How much does it cost to ship the antibodies in the United States?

Q: How much does it cost to ship the antibodies to other countries?

Q: What is the delivery time?

Q: How do you ship your antibodies?

Q: What are the storage conditions for the antibodies?

Q: Can the antibodies be stored at -20°C?

Q: Are there any publications using this antibody?

Q: Do you offer any discount?

Q: How do I place an order?

A: United States: Please place order online at www.abaffinity.com.  We use PayPal as our payment system to ensure maximum security. You do NOT need a PayPal account to check out with this system.  We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.  

Other countries:  ONLY norovirus and bacterial antibodies may be ordered outside of the United States.  Please fill out our Purchase Order form and e-mail it to sales@abaffinity.com.  We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. 

Q: What are the prices of your antibodies?

A: All prices are in U.S. currency and are subject to change without notice.

Q: What countries do you ship to?

A: Our norovirus and bacterial antibodies can be shipped anywhere in the world.  Other antibodies may only be sold in the United States.

Q: How much does it cost to ship the antibodies in the United States?

A: In the United States we have a flat rate of $35 for shipping and handling. 

Q: How much does it cost to ship the antibodies to other countries?

A: We only ship our norovirus and bacterial antibodies outside of the United States.  To determine approximate shipping cost to your country, go to the rate finder on www.fedex.com.  These antibodies will be shipped from the U.S., 61866 zip code and are usually about 4lbs.  Please note that this cost does not include any customs fees.  Additional $15 handling fee will be added to all international shipments.   

Q: What is the delivery time?

A: Most antibodies will have a delivery time of 3 to 12 days depending on the stock status. Our norovirus and bacterial antibodies will have a shorter delivery time between 2-7 days.

Q: How do you ship your antibodies?

A:  Although majority of our antibodies are stable at room temperature for long periods of time before showing any significant loss in activity, we ship all our antibodies on either dry ice or gel ice packs to extend their shelf life. 

Q: What are the storage conditions for the antibodies?

A: Please see the antibody specification sheet for the storage conditions for each antibody.

Q: Can the antibodies be stored at -20°C?

A: We recommend all antibodies to be aliquoted in no smaller than 10 µl and stored at -20oC.  The smaller the aliquot, the more the stock concentration is affected by evaporation and absorption of the antibody onto the surface of the storage vial.

Q: Are there any publications using this antibody?

A: Our web site will be updated as soon as we receive new information.

Q: Do you offer any discount?

A:  AbAffinity does offer various discounts and promotions on many of our products. For more information please contact us at sales@abaffinity.com or check our home page at www.AbAffinity.com.

When ordering large quantities, discounts are offered for some of our products. 

The ValidCheck™ System

Pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria,

E. coli O157, and Campylobactercause more than 5.7 million food poisoning cases in the U.S. every year, resulting in $41.4 billion in annual healthcare expenses and business losses. These bacteria can cause severe illness and even death in normal and immune compromised individuals such as young children, senior citizens, and AIDS patients.

Early detection of bacteria in contaminated foods is essential to prevent food poisoning outbreaks. The ValidCheck™ System by Kim Laboratories, Inc. provides an inexpensive detection method for food and meat processing facilities and healthcare organizations. The first product in the pathogen detection industry to offer ultra-sensitive testing, ValidCheck™ provides reliable results in thirty minutes for toxin detection and forty-five minutes for bacterial detection in a variety of foods.

Kim Laboratories' proprietary laser-optics based antibody detection technology is the basis of the ValidCheck™ system. The system offers rapid detection with outstanding sensitivity, accuracy, minimal sample preparation time, easy-to-use, inexpensive and versatile detection.

ValidCheck™ Detection System

E.coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus test kits are currently available. The laboratory test results show highly accurate and sensitive detection (>95% sensitivity, >95% specificity).

Kim Laboratories New Facility

June 21, 2019

Kim Laboratories has graduated from the University of Illinois incubator facility and has moved into a 1,600 square foot facility in the Rantoul Business Center in Rantoul, Illinois. For the past six years, Kim Laboratories has provided quality antibodies and a state of the art diagnostic kit for the Norovirus. The Norovirus, a highly contiguous virus, sickens 23 million Americans a year. With a brand new facility, Myung Kim, Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O.) of Kim Laboratories, plans to launch a disinfectant spray for the Norovirus begining in Asian markets and beyond.

The News Gazette Full Article Link

Kim Laboratories relocating to Rantoul Business Center

New Norovirus GII.15 (J23) monoclonal antibody

April 25, 2019

Kim Laboratories is pleased to announce the addition of the GII.15 (J23) Norovirus specific monoclonal antibody to our current line of monoclonal antibodies. The monoclonal antibody cross-reacts to GII.4 (MD145). We are still the only company in the world who produces antibodies specific for Norovirus. These high quality antibodies can be used in a wide array of immunoassays (ELISA, Western Blot, Immunofluorescence).

Clone/mAb name: P7G3

Specificity: tests positive on GII.4 (MD145) and GII.15 (J23). Key epitope unique to GII.4 and GII.15.

Protein type: mouse IgG1

(Catalog # MABG24)

Kim Laboratories welcomes collaborations with any organization with the goal to produce any type of immunoassay system. Please contact us and we can provide insightful advice and knowledge on our antibody's functions towards development of a viable immunoassay.

New Norovirus GI.3 (Toronto) monoclonal antibody

March 15, 2019

Kim Laboratories is pleased to announce the addition of the GI.3 (Toronto) Norovirus specific monoclonal antibody to our current line of monoclonal antibodies. We are still the only company in the world who produces antibodies specific for Norovirus. These high quality antibodies can be used in a wide array of immunoassays (ELISA, Western Blot, Immunofluorescence).

Clone/mAb name: P7E12

Specificity: tests positive on GI.3 (Toronto). Key epitopes also present on GI.7 and GI.8 capsid proteins.

Protein type: mouse IgG1

(Catalog # MABG13)

Kim Laboratories is recognized as a model of success in the Korean Times

December 8, 2018

Kim Laboratories was featured in The Korean Times newspaper as one of the most prestigious biotech companies owned by a Korean-American. Kim Laboratories has been recognized for the production and development of norovirus detection systems as well as a disinfectant against norovirus.

The Korean Time Full Article Link (Korean)

Prominence of the second generation Koreans in startup companies

Kim Laboratories receives $10,000 prize and places second in the 2018 Innovate Illinois Competition

November 19, 2018

Innovate Illinois is a highly selective entrepreneurial competition and recognizes small businesses for their innovations that have a lasting economic impact on the State of Illinois. Over 130 businesses entered this year's competition in 2 categories: early stage and late stage. Kim Laboratories entered into the late stage competition and was selected as the runner up for its innovative work in pathogen detection, specifically related to the detection of Norovirus.

The News Gazette Full Article Link

Champaign-based firm gets $10,000 in Innovate Illinois contest

The Korean Times Full Article Link (Korean)

The innovative technology gets recognized

Kim Laboratories' participation in the 2008 Innovate Illinois Entrepreneurial Competition Finals is recognized in east central Illinois' largest newspaper, The News Gazette

November 16, 2018

The News Gazette Full Article Link

2 Champaign firms headed for finals in business competition

Kim Laboratories advances to the finals in the in the 2008 Innovate Illinois Entrepreneurial Competition

September 30, 2018

On September 26th, Kim Laboratories was one of 6 companies to advance to the finals in the 2008 Innovate Illinois Entrepreneurial Competition. Kim Laboratories was recognized for its innovation in the area of pathogen detection, particularly the development of the NoroCheck™ Norovirus detection system. The final round of the competition will take place in Chicago on November 18th.

Kim Laboratories to participate in this year's Innovate Illinois business competition

September 3, 2018

Kim Laboratories has been selected to participate in the semifinal competition of the 2008 Innovate Illinois entrepreneurial competition in Chicago on September 26th. Kim Laboratories was 1 of 16 companies selected from over 130 Illinois small business applicants for its innovation in the product development of Norovirus pathogen detection. Kim Laboratories will compete with other companies for a $40,000 prize from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). The purpose of the award is to promote companies who have innovative products or ideas that will bring economic benefits to the state of Illinois. This award accompanies travel money to participate in the semifinal.

New Norovirus GII.5 monoclonal antibody

March 3, 2018

Kim Laboratories is pleased to announce the addition of the GII.5 (White River) Norovirus specific monoclonal antibody to our current line of monoclonal antibodies. We are still the only company in the world who produces antibodies specific for Norovirus. These high quality antibodies can be used in a wide array of immunoassays (ELISA, EMSA, Western Blot, Dot Blot, Immunofluorescence).

Clone/mAb name: P2C5

Specificity: tests positive on GII.5 VLP (White River).

Protein type: mouse IgG1

(Catalog # MABG23)

Kim Laboratories is now just 2 monoclonal antibodies short of completing its panel of antibodies that can react to all of the 150 known strains of Norovirus. With this full suite of monoclonal antibodies, various types of diagnostic and detection kits can be developed. Kim Laboratories welcomes collaborations with any organization with the goal to produce any type of immunoassay system. Please contact us and we can provide insightful advice and knowledge on our antibody's functions towards development of a viable immunoassay.

Kim Laboratories expands across the globe

February 18, 2018

As our product lines continue to expand so does our customer base. Kim Laboratories now has sold products to the U.S.A., Sweden, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Finland, Germany and England. It plans to expand its customer base further to other parts of the world.

Monoclonal Antibody Production

February 4, 2018

Kim Laboratories is the world's premier antibody design boutique that specializes in made-to-order custom designed antibodies, both generation and production, specific to any chemical or biological molecule, especially antigenically diverse organisms such as Norovirus. The Company welcomes collaboration with other biotech related organizations to bring new products, based on novel antibody design, to the healthcare sector.

$150,000 Illinois State Grant to Kim Laboratories

The Korea Times, Thursday June 22 2016 by Kyunghyun Lee

Illinois state government named Kim Laboratories, Inc. as one of awardees of Innovative Product Grants with $150,000. Other 3 awardees would receive $400,000 and the grants will help the companies to create 75 new jobs for 2 years. Roxanne Nava, the department's assistant director, congratulated the grant winners with a speech that Homeland Security related market has reached $42 billion and Illinois state would take a main position to develop the market. She said, "Illinois State will continue to support the companies with innovated ideas since they will help the economy of the state".

Myung Lip Kim, CEO of Kim Laboratories, Inc., said the state's grant gave Kim Laboratories the validation of innovative technology by Illinois State, which was founded and operated by Koreans. "Our product has lots of implications for homeland security, and we will open the channel with the federal homeland security to guard against the possible threat of bio-terrorism to use our instruments," he said. The company, founded in 2002, developed successfully ValidCheck™ with the innovative laser/optic based and anti-body technology. It can detect food borne pathogens in 45 minutes.

Four UI Research Park firms win grants

News-Gazette, Thursday, June 20, 2016 by Don Dodson

Champaign—Four companies at the University of Illinois Research Park have been named winners of Innovative Product Grants from the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Caviton, iCyt, Kim Laboratories and SmartSpark Energy Systems will receive grants totaling $550,000 to help underwrite the cost of developing new products with applications for homeland security.

Roxanne Nava, the department's assistant director, congratulated the winners during a visit to the park this morning.

Kim Laboratories plans to use its $150,000 grant to hire protein biochemists and instrument production technicians to support initial manufacturing of its ValidCheck™ rapid-testing system.

ValidCheck™ can be used to test for food contaminations in cafeterias. Its homeland-security applications include testing for bioterrorism contaminants and pathogens such as ricin, anthrax and botulism. Company founder Myung Kim said the product could help keep safe the nation's water and food supplies.

Kim Laboratories, which employs 16, specializes in detecting biological contaminants in food, water and health care facilities. "We are supposed to have at least 23 new jobs created by the grant over the next two years," Kim said.

The state grant "gives us validation that our technology is innovative," he added.

BIO2006: All eyes to Illinois Bio-Tech Company operated by Korean

Kim Laboratories: Food poisoning detection in real-time

The Korea Daily, April 12 2006, by Jihyun Kim

A company named Kim Laboratories grabs all eyes in Bio 2016 in Chicago, which held by April 12. The convention has 1,100 companies and related organizations from total 31 countries, and one of them that is operated by Korean, MyungLip Kim, is Kim Laboratories. It locates in Urbana/Champaign in Illinois and completes its product development, ValidCheck™ V-1000.

The Illinois State Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity asked Kim Laboratories to participate at Illinois Pavilion in Bio 2006, and CEO of Kim Laboratories, MyungLip Kim, met the Illinois state governor, Rod Blagojevich at the opening of the convention. He said, "The governor wants to establish Illinois State as a main hub of Bio-technology and he will keep up with the collaboration with Korea." In real, he has put a bridge between Korean companies and Illinois companies and mediated the meeting with those Korean companies and the governor.

"We are in the process to complete the contracts with 4-5 Korean companies, and lots of interests are showed for the future collaboration," he said. "I am proud of being a participant at Bio 2006, which is the largest convention of Bio industry, and we will keep doing our best to the best in this industry. It has been all possible to be here because of our great employees," he added. Kim Laboratories employs 17 and 5 of them are those who were borne in Korea. Its COO is Stephen H. Blose who worked with James Watson, a Nobel Prize winner.

Collaboration between Korea and Illinois State

MyungLip Kim, CEO of Kim Laboratories, Inc.

The Korea Times, April 12 2006 by Kyunghyun Lee

Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois State governor, visited Kim Laboratories at Illinois Pavilion in Bio 2006 Chicago, which is the only one company operated by Koreans and participated in the convention. He appreciated Kim Laboratories to be a big help for Bio 2006 in Chicago".

MyungLip Kim, CEO of Kim Laboratories, responded to the governor, "We are proud of being a participant at the convention as a Illinois company and also a Korean company to introduce our product to the international bio industry."

Illinois State supports Bio 2006 in Chicago with $1 million. A biotech company, Kim Laboratories, completed the development of ValidCheck detection/ diagnoses system with a laser/optic and reagent technology. ValidCheck system can easily detect food poisoning pathogens such as E. coli 0157, Salmonella, Listeria, Staphylococcal aureus in 45 minutes. MyungLip also added, "Illinois State has supported and given validation to our company. With the close relationship with Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity or Homeland Security has been also a powerful support of the company, and we are happy to be the bridge of the collaboration of Illinois state and biotech companies, organizations or related government in Korea."

Lab Keys on Korea in bid for markets

News-Gazette, Sunday, March 12, 2006, by Don Dodson

Champaign—Korea schools and factories could be the first big users of food-contamination detectors made by a Champaign-based company. Kim Laboratories, which has developed quick ways to test for salmonella, E. coli 0157 and other bacteria, has already received preliminary orders from a South Korean company for eight devices. If things go as planned, the devices would be used by South Korean school cafeterias to screen foods for possible contamination.

Myung Kim, the Korean-born founder of Kim Laboratories, said industrial and school cafeterias in South Korea and Japan could prove to be a $1.3 billion market for the company if the product, known as the ValidCheck™, catches on.

"In Korea, there were 130 food poisoning outbreaks over 170 school days in 2014," Kim said. Japan has had problems too, he said. In 1996, thousands of school children got ill and a few died after eating sprouts contaminated with E. coli. "So not only are parents upset, but the schools are applying pressure to provide a cure for the problem," he said.

Kim also sees Asian industries as potential customers. Unlike their U.S. counterparts, many companies in Japan and Korea provide breakfast, lunch and dinner to their factory workers, with some serving 3,000 at a time. One of the conventional problems in identifying food contamination is the time it takes. Normally one to seven days are required for field testing. But Kim said the ValidCheck™ can identify pathogenic bacteria in 45 minutes and biotoxins in 30 minutes. Plus, it's relatively easy to use. High school graduates can be trained to perform the tests, he said.

Kim said he received the preliminary sales orders from Korea in January and expects to send the devices in April. The machines are being made by a Massachusetts manufacturer. Kim said the price of the device is in the $15,000 to $20,000 range.

To gear up for potential demand, Kim Labs, based in the EnterpriseWorks facility in the University of Illinois Research Park, has greatly increased its staff.

It now has 17 employees–five of them with doctorates and a sixth with a veterinary medicine degree. Now the company is advertising for an antibody technician, a systems engineer, a project manager and a few microbiologists. "Within four or five months, we'll need to hire three or four marketing and sales people," said Kim, who received a doctorate in microbiology from the UI in 2002.

Dr. Stephen Blose was hired as the company's chief operating officer last August, and he and Kim traveled to Korea shortly afterward. They'll go again this month to show the ValidCheck™ to potential customers and find a distribution channel there. Kim Labs already has a liaison office in Seoul, thanks to Chris Sim the company's director of business development, Blose said. Blose said the company plans to take "a serial approach to Asia," first establishing itself in Korea, then leapfrogging to Japan, and finally establishing itself in China in time for the 2008 Olympics.

On the home front, Blose said, the company wants to convince major food processors, such as Kraft and Tyson Foods, of the value of ValidCheck™. "We think our system is faster than what they're currently using. They can get answers early and not wait hours or days," he said.

Blose said the company also wants to convince the Department of Homeland Security that ValidCheck™ could be used to test water and foods at airports and other ports of entry. It could monitor plant products that come across the border and materials that may be contaminated with bacteria, viruses or toxins, he said. "We should be able to reach out to those markets by the end of this year," he said.

Kim said ValidCheck™ can guard against bioterrorism by identifying botulism, ricin and anthrax. He said the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has helped his company in its attempt to establish contacts with the federal government. Kim also said the Valid Check could be turned into a diagnostic device that hospitals could use to detect bacteria in saliva and urine. The diagnostic market could prove more lucrative than the industrial applications market, but diagnostic use would also require approval from the Food and Drug Administration, he said. The company should get wider exposure to the biotechnology world when it takes part in the BIO 2006 show, slated April 9-12 at Chicago's McCormick Place. "We'll host a product show in one of the booths, most likely in the Illinois pavilion," Kim said.

Detecting food Contamination in 45 minutes

Kim Laboratories ValidCheck comes into the market

The Korea Daily, October 26 2005 by Hyoryun Lee

Kim Laboratories, a biotech venture company, recently completed the development of ValidCheck™ system and launched to come out in real supply to the market. ValidCheck™ system can quickly identify the presence of bacteria, toxin and viruses that cause food poisoning in 45 minutes. It is composed of the instrument and the reagent. The user once puts the reagents in the food sample. When it is put in the machine that connects to the computer, the system gives the result in 45 minutes. Other current detection systems need at least 24 hours to have the result meaning that the meals are already provided to people and it has resulted in having the mass food poisoning accidents and lawsuits. The ValidCheck system can ensure food safety to providing consumers and food preparers with accurate and reliable on-site, real-time, cost-effective, and user-friendly detection system for bacteria pathogens. With this technology, food processors should be able to avoid massive product recalls and liability suits, and consumers should be less at risk of contracting food borne illnesses.

In addition, the system can be available for the diagnostic market with various reagents, and the solution for the possible bio-terrorism.

The most powerful advantage of ValidCheck™ is cost-effectiveness. In case of reagent, the price is half of other current reagents. The price of instrument is almost 1/10 of other competitors.

Company founder, Dr. MyungLip Kim graduated from University of Illinois with a major of Microbiology and founded the company in 2003 at Champaign. Its R&D employs 14 including Dr. Stephen H. Blose who worked for Bio-Rad specialized in Research/Development and marketing.

Despite glitch, entrepreneur takes care of business

News-Gazette, February 2003, by Don Dodson

Urbana—It never fails. It's time to make the biggest business presentation of our life, and suddenly there's a technical glitch. Myung Kim didn't let it stand in his way. He made his presentation the old-fashioned way–looking judges in the eye and explaining his business–and ended up winning $35,000 in the V. Dale Cozad Business Plan Competition.

"I really thought the computer glitch jeopardized my ability to win this competition," Kim said Thursday, minutes after the award was announced. "Animation was 60 to 70 percent of my presentation. When that failed, it had to come out of my mouth. I still had pictures of the animation going through my head. The communication somehow worked, I guess."

Kim's plan outlined his business, Kim Laboratories, which plans to develop faster and better testing for salmonella, a bacterium that cause food poisoning. The testing materials could be used by food processors to identify salmonella contamination in their products. Other testing materials could be used by hospitals to identify whether patients had contracted salmonella poisoning.

Six teams of finalists made presentations Thursday afternoon, with the assumption they were vying for a first prize of about $10,000. But Ikhlaq Sidhu, director of the University of Illinois' Technology Entrepreneur Center, shattered that impression when he announced that contributions from UI Research Park developer Peter Fox and Illinois Ventures, the UI's start-up services arm, had boosted the prize to $35,000.

"This amount is a huge amount for a company at my level," Kim said. "I'll be able to buy equipment and send out for testing materials. I had not imagined this kind of prize money." Kim will also receive six months' free rent at EnterpriseWorks, the UI's new business incubator center.

The $5,000 second prize went to Silicon Power Systems, a team that's developing a fuel cell prototype. Third prize went to UltraWafer Inc., which presented a plan for developing high-performance gallium antimonide wafers. That team received $2,000. The three runner-up teams-Faucets Inc., Helix Interactive and QEOS Inc.- each received $1,000.

Andrew Denenberg, one of six judges for the competition, called Kim's business opportunity "outstanding, compelling." "He had trouble in his presentation and we had to put that aside," Denenberg said. "This is a business that will be successful. It (Salmonella contamination) is a well-understood problem. We can all relate to it."

Another judge, John Banta, said Kim's business plan clearly laid out what he would do. "He defined the market, he defined the problem and he defined what he'd do to solve the problem," said Banta, the managing director of Illinois Ventures.

Kim said he was eager to tell team member Aaron Goldstein and business investor Daniel Kim of Chicago about the victory. Sidhu said the decision to increase the first-prize award puts the competition in the prize range of competitions at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "We did it not because we were interested in matching them, but because $12,000 is small in the cost of starting a business," he said. "It's got to be enough to make people come out."

Twelve teams initially entered the competition, and those teams were whittled to 10 and eventually to six, said Laura Hollis, program director at the Technology Entrepreneur Center.

Kim said his company, which had already made arrangements to lease space at the business incubator, had set a tentative budget of $50,000 for this year. The prize money and the free months of free rent will pay for a lot of that. "It's beyond my imagination," he said. "It's crucial. It helps out so much."