#Dom tower cost drivers#

Your sample lysis, sample buffer, and the percentage of acrylamide in your SDS-PAGE gel will facilitate the separation of your denatured proteins. Naturally, proteins and their post-translational modified forms will vary in size and abundance in your samples based on your experiments. Your samples constitute your experiment’s objective. (Most labs have moved away from radioactivity-based detection.) The key is that antibody development for use in Western blots does not take place in a vacuum. Primary antibodies are often paired with secondary antibodies that facilitate chemiluminescence or fluorescence signal detection. For example, low expression targets often require higher specificity which can be achieved with lower affinity and higher avidity antibody profiles. A primary antibody is validated for use in defined protocol conditions to recognize an epitope presentation specifically and reliably. Your primary antibody is the finely honed tool you use to reveal your results.

#Dom tower cost drivers#

The three key interdependent drivers of Western blot success are the same. These are antigen preservation, transfer blotting efficiency, and antibody-based detection. Impressive new instruments and next-generation techniques have been introduced to support high throughput research and develop clinically relevant applications. Nowadays Western blot protocols have diversified - but the fundamentals stay the same. The basic Western Blot protocol steps entail sample prep, polypeptide separation by molecular weight using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), transfer from the gel to a membrane, membrane blocking, antibody probing, and detection. If an eco-friendlier variation of a Western blot workflow saves time and reduces hazardous waste, but results in failed Westerns, is it really more sustainable? Of course not.

It might sound obvious, but it’s worth saying. Your samples and validated antibodies represent greater lab resources than any blot transfer method can conserve

Just take care not to risk a successful blot! Whether it’s a simple buffer switch, or a more involved equipment swap - it’s always worthwhile to explore lab workflow efficiencies. This widely used immunoassay to probe samples for specific proteins and posttranslational modifications has potential time and material savings associated with variations of the transfer step.