The use of monoclonal antibodies in the molecular typing of animal viruses.

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) are biological reagents which have a definite structure. They identify epitopes with total specificity. Such specificity is based on the exact physico-chemical structure of antigens. Thus MAbs provide a unique link between chemical structure and antigenic properties and can give great insight into the functional properties of biological agents. The author describes a number of applications of MAbs in the characterisation of foot and mouth disease viruses for diagnostic purposes, and in research into the antigenic nature of these viruses.