The Importance of Sample Prep
Sometimes, following a Western blot protocol isn’t enough.
Sample prep involves a lot of decision points and reagent options that can mean the difference between crisp, clean bands on your blot or wavy, streaky, or even chunky bands.
Whether your sample is from a fibrous tissue or an aliquot of a genome-modified cell line, it will require certain steps to fully solubilize the target proteins. Heat, detergents, and sometimes physical disruption can be involved. Finally, there’s the question of phosphorylation state; “Will you be probing your sample with phospho-specific antibodies?”
That’s a lot of moving pieces.
For a quick and concise overview of Western blot sample prep,
as well as the other steps involved, check out our eBook!
