Due to the amount of western-blot we need to do in the future, our lab needs to find a substitution for western-blot filter paper to cut down the budget. Any good suggestions?
back then when I was graduate student and I was working in a poor lab, I used to buy Watercolor painting papers for westren blot, but I am sure they are more expensive here in US.
I think whatman would be more expensive. I think using tear resistant and lint free (like the one you can clean the windows with as it is non-linting and does not fall apart) paper towel would do the trick.
I reuse the filter papers in the old days especially the one contacting the gel. But, I have never compare the quality so can not guarantee good result.
I suggest you to fully utilize the catalogue papers and flyers, especially those distributed by those laboratory suppliers. Or just use any other kind of water-absorbing paper materials, note that you must use paper materials and not other water-absorbing materials because we want the capillary action of the transfer buffer to be slow and steady, or else the transfer efficiency is low.
How about sheets of craft paper. Just cut to size. I think paper-towel will work as well. Maybe you should run a pilot experiment and post the results in Biotechniques!
I think Ru-Jeng's answer may work well and be cheep and would not need to spend ages cutting. It probably can be re-used 2-3 times only. In-between uses I would rinse them well with miliq water to prevent chrystallisation of chemicals and then dry them with plenty of air-flow around them.
You can use only two pieces of whatman filter paper on both side. Reusable soft sponge can also be used. Their reuse is possible only if you are running next western transfer within 1-2 days.
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