Bio-Rad Laboratories has announced the launch of the Criterion Stain Free imaging system designed to enable stain-free detection and quantitation of proteins.
The system consists of a new formulation of the company's Criterion precast gels, a Criterion Stain Free imager, and Image Lab software.
SDS-Page followed by Coomassie brilliant blue staining, is a standard method used to separate proteins and monitor the progress of protein purification workflows.
The process involves running a gel at each chromatographic step, followed by a staining and de-staining procedure, which can be time-consuming.
Two limitations of the SDS-Page followed by Coomassie brilliant blue staining method are the limited use for protein quantitation and lack of reproducibility.
The Criterion Stain Free system enables scientists to bypass the staining and de-staining steps of SDS-Page and visualise protein samples in 2.5mins after electrophoresis.
In addition, the system captures digital images of gels to make record-keeping easy and gel drying obsolete.
Features of the Criterion Stain Free system include: one-touch instrument operation; equal or improved sensitivity compared to a Coomassie stain; compatible with western blotting and mass spectrometry; digital images and data are easy to share, print, and store; and no organic waste as a result of the process.
