Synthetic antiserum for rapid-turnaround therapies

1. A method for synthesizing an antiserum for rapid-turnaround therapies, the method comprising:

collecting antibody-secreting cells from a test subject, wherein the test subject has been exposed to a target biological agent and has produced a successful antibody response;

selecting a subset of the antibody-secreting cells, the subset of the antibody-secreting cells producing antibodies that neutralize the target biological agent;

generating variable-region-coding DNA sequences from the antibodies that neutralize the target biological agent;

tagging amplicons of the variable-region-coding DNA sequences with unique nucleic acid identifiers to associate the variable-region-coding DNA sequences derived from individual ones of the subset of the antibody-secreting cells;

analyzing antibody-type distribution in a natural immune response;

synthesizing antibodies from the variable-region-coding DNA sequences to form synthetic antibodies; and

mixing the synthetic antibodies in a proportion equal to the antibody-type distribution in the natural immune response to form the antiserum.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein collecting the antibody-secreting cells from the test subject comprises:

extracting a sample containing white blood cells from blood or bone marrow of the test subject; and

isolating at least one of B cells or plasma cells from the sample.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein selecting the subset of the antibody-secreting cells comprises:

encapsulating each antibody-secreting cell in a droplet via droplet microfluidics;

screening each antibody-secreting cell for neutralization of the target biological agent via a binding assay within the droplet; and

selecting the subset of the antibody-secreting cells that neutralize the target biological agent.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising an initial operation of priming the antibody response in the test subject.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein priming the antibody response in the test subject comprises vaccinating the test subject or selecting a previously infected test subject.

6. The method according to claim 5 , further comprising boosting the natural immune response in the test subject.

7. The method according to claim 4 , further comprising challenging the natural immune response in the test subject after priming the antibody response in the test subject and prior to collecting the antibody-secreting cells from the test subject.

8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising validating neutralization properties of the antiserum after synthesis.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the test subject comprises a human or a non-human animal.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the target biological agent comprises at least one of a virus, a bacterium, a prion, a toxin, a cancer, or any combination thereof.