I am conducting a study on human cytokines. Part of my work will be on dried blood spots. I noted inconsistency in using protein eluents. Most methods using PBS+Tween consistently, but some used bovine serum albumin (BSA) and sodium azide. I couldn’t find clear explanation for this variation. My question is what is your advice regarding the use of BSA when doing protein elution and do you think it might affect my results?
Many thanks,
BSA helps to stabilize the proteins being eluted but may interfere with downstream assays you may want to run. If you are getting inconsistent results, you might want to try it with BSA. Make sure you note the maker/grade/lot number of the BSA so you can vary if there's any lot to lot differences caused by the BSA being used.
I would like to add that if possible use acetylated BSA. It minimizes non-specific binding of proteins in the eluate to plastic (charged) surfaces.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Social Psychology
- Attitude