Electrophoresis/Western Blotting

This tech report demonstrates the advantages of independently controlled voltage and current parameters for each focusing tray in optimizing IEF conditions for a complex, insoluble membrane protein fraction.

Immun-Blot LF (low fluorescence) PVDF membranes are protein blotting membranes optimized for fluorescent and multiplex fluorescent applications. They offer high signal-to-background ratio, low autofluorescence, and superior protein retention to maximize blot detection sensitivity and enable downstream quantitation.

Western blotting, although a commonly used technique, involves a time-consuming multi step process. The whole western blotting workflow could take up to three days to complete. Thus, having a tool to monitor each of the major steps in the western blotting workflow reduces chances of finding out at the very end of the workflow that an experiment was not successful.

The Gel Doc™ EZ imaging system makes an impact from coast to coast — at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University in Boston, and in the Geoff Rosenfeld Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego.

When it comes to gel imaging and blotting, conventional imaging devices have tended to offer either high-performance, complex functionality or low-cost, low-performance simplicity. That is, until now.

The electrophoretic workflow has undergone few changes since it was solidified as a fundamental tool in life science research in the 1970s. Today, just like then, researchers need to prepare samples, load gels, then perform separation and further downstream analysis, including western blotting.

Protein quantitation is an important part of many workflows. The estimation or quantitation of the protein in a sample frequently allows researchers to understand the results from their work and make decisions on the subsequent steps. Presented are answers to some of the most frequently ask questions related to usage of Bio-Rad’s colorimetric assays for protein quantitation.

As a fundamental tool in protein research, it is critical that all steps of the electrophoresis workflow (from running gels to visualizing blots) are performed successfully to ensure accurate, reliable, and reproducible results. Protein standards are often used to monitor electrophoretic separation and transfer efficiency but do not always enable ladder visualization after blot development.