Hello Sofia Visconti

BSA is a natural carrier protein that will prevent precipitation and inactivation of growth factor when stored at -20 degree C. Also, it prevents binding of growth factor to the walls of the tubes when aliquoted and stored in tubes. Try using it once before discarding.

Best.

Hi Sofia Visconti

This is probably a change in your experimental conditions. You mention that this is just one aliquot - to perform reliable repeats you'll need more aliquots and the technique may not be suitable for publication. I would discard, even if it does still work as you will not be able to compare with other experiments that have used FGF7 in 0.1% BSA.

Good luck.

Hi Sofia,

I agree with Malcolm. we always follow the manufacturer's recommendation for reconstitution of any protein that we purchase. The Growth factors tend to loose their activity significantly during freezing and thawing and carrier proteins play an important role in preserving it.

Dear everyone, thank you very much for your kind and prompt replies. I had the feeling that the most sensible thing to do was to discard those aliquots: thank you very much for confirming it.

All the best,

Sofia