There are a number of great reasons to share your reagents with other scientists. For example, you can help them replicate your results, save them time and money developing their own tools, and even boost your scientific profile by getting more citations. It used to be difficult to find and share reagents, but with online marketplaces springing up to serve your needs, there’s never been a better time to get involved.
A rule that most scientific journals hold is that paper authors must make their materials, reagents, data, code and associated protocols easily available to other scientists, as these resources are essential for repeating any given experiment. Replicating research is a key part of the scientific process, a self-correcting mechanism without which we’d accumulate incorrect models that other scientists might waste their time building upon. Scientists also commonly look to the work of others to help inform their own experiments and come up with new ideas.
Historically, there were two possible sources for finding new reagents and scientific tools. Firstly, you could look to commercial suppliers to source the reagent you need, assuming they could provide it. Secondly, you could request a reagent directly from another researcher, usually based on a paper published using that reagent. The latter is a great way to discover and obtain reagents from a wide range of sources. However, it relies upon other academics taking the time to locate the reagent in question, complete a materials transfer agreement, package the reagent up for transport and organise a courier for delivery. While most scientists are more than happy to take these steps, it is unlikely to be their top priority given how busy they are, meaning it can take weeks or months for the reagent to arrive.
What’s more, most reagents, such as cell lines, antibodies and plasmids, could stay hidden away in someone’s freezer, either due to a lack of resource to manage them and fulfil reagent requests, or because the scientists that originally created them have since moved on (and the reagents have been forgotten about). Regardless of the reason, if you do not know of their existence, you’ll likely have to repeat the work if you want access to the construct, antibody or cell line you need. As you can probably imagine, this is a significant waste of time and resources.
To meet this challenge, online reagent marketplaces that can simplify and speed up these processes have emerged, relegating some of these frustrations to the past and opening up new avenues for sharing and finding new reagents.
Why should you share reagents online?
In the past, sharing reagents may have appeared a slightly daunting task (maybe it’s lost in the back of a freezer somewhere, or you’ve got too many other tasks that are higher on your priority list). This is where online reagent market places can help. They guide you through submitting reagents and collating the relevant information. The benefit is that you only have to do this once, and the online portal manages the distribution of your reagents to other researchers interested in using them. Some also link your reagents to any relevant publications, helping you to get credit for the hard work you put into developing the reagent in the first place.
In summary, online reagent marketplaces allow you or others to:
- Share your reagents (often offering to store and distribute them for you)
- Easily access the reagents of other researchers, using a streamlined process
- Read and write reviews about the reagents (making it easier to select the right one for a given application)
- Accelerate the progress of research
- Improve scientific results and project efficiency
- Maximise the commercial opportunities available by creating and sharing reagents
How to share your scientific reagents online
How many reagents and other scientific tools are sat languishing at the back of your freezer? Could they help save someone else time, energy and money (while giving you the opportunity to receive credit and citations in the process)?
To help you get started with sharing your reagents online, we’ve put together a shortlist of some of the most popular marketplaces that are currently available:
- AddGene – a plasmid-sharing platform
- Antibody Registry– universal identification of antibodies
- AssayDepot – marketplace for life science research products and services
- BiomedUSA– hub for sharing and licensing biological research materials
- Chemical Probes – wiki-like site for recommending chemical probes
- Ximbio – share a wide range of biological reagents with the scientific community
While some of these are relatively simple and allow you to simply share details of your reagents, others offer a comprehensive service including reagent storage, distribution and even manufacturing. While you should certainly check your legal rights of ownership before you submit reagents, once submitted, you can normally retain your connection to them, even if you move laboratory.
Ximbio is an example of such a reagent marketplace. You can submit various reagents to Ximbio, including cell lines, monoclonal, polyclonal & recombinant antibodies, plasmids, mouse models, zebrafish, peptides, and small molecules. The graphic below outlines how the Ximbio system works:
What information should you include when you upload a reagent?
Most of the reagent sharing portals have informative and detailed instructions on how to submit your reagent. Your profile will contain the relevant author information, so you normally only need to fill in specific details regarding the reagent. For example, if you were submitting an antibody to Ximbio, you’d include the following:
- Relevance – short description of the reagent and what it’s used for
- Validated applications (e.g. works in ELISA, western hybridisation etc.)
- Antigen, gene or protein targets
- Species reactivity (e.g. human, mouse)
- Origin host of the antibody (e.g. rabbit)
- Immunogen
- Subclass
- Positive controls available
- Myeloma used to create the antibody hybridoma
- Recommended growing conditions for the hybridoma cell line
- Notes with anything else that might be useful to the end-user
After uploading, the listing should also include links to relevant suppliers (where applicable), so that interested researchers can buy your reagents.
Where next?
Using platforms like Ximbio to share and commercialise your reagents for you and your institution’s benefit is one of many ways the internet is helping you to increase your impact on the scientific community. To read about other ways you can use the web to enhance your scientific reputation, boost your career opportunities and have a lasting impact within the scientific community, download our free ebook today.
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