Immunoprecipitation is a technique in which an antibody is used to remove the antigen (e.g. a protein) from a complex mixture - i.e. protein extract. The antiserum binds the protein, the complex precipitates, and the precipitate centrifuged to yield a pellet. The pellet contains the antigen and any other protein (or substance) bound to the antigen. The pellet can be disrupted by SDS or urea, and the contents identified after further purification by e.g.:
David B. Collinge, created 4/12-01 revised 04-12-01