Image of a pencil sharpener to depict sharpening western blot image by handling non-specific binding

Non-specific Binding? Tips to Sharpen up Your Western Blot

In the previous installment of this series on western blotting, we addressed potential sources of error when your final product is completely bare. But alternatively, what do you do when too much background is the problem? You may have beautiful bands of interest—but if there is a bunch of non-specific binding, your quantification and data…

Roadside Assistance: Fixing Your Broken-Down ELISA

Roadside Assistance: Fixing Your Broken-Down ELISA

The ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) is arguably one of the most important and versatile tools in the toolbox of molecular biologists, biochemists and diagnosticians across the world. Defined by its simplicity and speed, the assay is easy to learn and perform in as few as five steps. But with so few variables to manipulate, an…

People holding hands to represent interactions that can be uncovered using co-immunoprecipitation

Co-immunoprecipitation Protocol: Your Practical Guide To Co-IPs

Do you wonder if your favorite protein interacts with another protein? Do you wish that you could shine a spotlight on your protein to determine its binding partner? You can use co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) to find your protein’s partner. This article will get you ready for your first Co-IP, provide a handy Co-IP protocol, and discuss…

Let me introduce you to ELISA…No, not the girl…The assay.

An ELISA (Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbant Assay) is a popular assay that uses antibodies and color change to detect proteins, peptides, antibodies or biomolecules in complex mixtures. ELISAs are popular because they are reliable, specific, easy to use, and can easily be scaled up to process multiple samples simultaneously. How an ELISA is Done: In an ELISA,…