I have a 13 amino acids peptide and I want to inject it in mice to induce immunization. The injection will be in the tail vein. After 12 days I expect to have a peak in the production of antibodies, so in the 12th day after injection I will challenge these mice and matched controls with bacteria and perform a mortality curve. I believe this kind of immunization will be protective and prolong mice survival. How much peptide should I use to induce the immune response? One dose is enough? Do I need to inject it several times? When and how much?
If everything works well, I want to produce a monoclonal antibody against this peptide and inject it after the bacteria injections in non-immunized mice to see if this monoclonal antibody works as a new treatment for infections. How much antibody should I inject to try to treat wild-type mice with a monoclonal antibody? One dose is enough? Do I need to inject it several times? When and how much?