Protein Forest has filed a patent for the isoelectric Western Blot (IWB) system, which eliminates protein loss during Western Blot transfers.
This can range from 10 to 40 per cent due to transfer membrane 'blow-through'.
The IWB system extends the utility of the digital Proteomechip (DPC) sample fractionation platform to allow direct, Western Blot quantitation.
Protein samples are rapidly (within 30 minutes) and reproducibly separated and concentrated by parallel isoelectric focusing, using the DPC system.
Protein fractions captured in the chip are transferred directly to a membrane that has been modified to eliminate protein loss.
This transfer is performed using IWB blotting membranes with a semi-dry blotting apparatus.
The entire transfer procedure is completed in 15 minutes.
The IWB system is currently being evaluated at the Barnett Institute, Northeastern University; the Proteomics Center at Children's Hospital, Boston and at the Proteomic Fractionation Group, University of Massachusetts Medical School.
