Recordings Available for Viewing
Hercules, CA — September 3, 2014 — Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. hosted two seminars at the 2014 Experimental Biology Meeting earlier this year in which key opinion leaders discussed approaches to improve the accuracy of western blotting quantitation using Bio-Rad’s stain-free technology.
Dr. Aldrin Gomes, PhD, an associate professor at the University of California, Davis, presented a talk entitled “Can Western Blots Be Trusted?” Dr. Robyn Murphy, PhD, an associate professor at La Trobe University in Victoria, Australia, discussed the use of stain-free total protein loading controls for conducting single-cell western blotting.
Bringing Back the Trust
Dr. Gomes’ talk addressed common western blot pain points that were also presented in a survey conducted by Biocompare, which found that 41% of scientists say their blots fail 25% of the time. “We have multiple problems at the western blot level that are holding back the field and giving way to poor quality blots with inaccurate results,” said Gomes during his presentation.
Dr. Gomes said the most common pitfalls preventing quantitative western blots are failure to validate antibodies, the use of housekeeping proteins for normalization, and reliance on film. For this reason, Dr. Gomes has adopted Bio-Rad’s V3 Western Workflow™, which allows him to perform blots within 3 hours once his antibodies have been validated. The V3 Western Workflow uses total protein normalization and the stain-free enabled ChemiDoc™ MP Digital Imager to improve blot quantitation. Dr. Gomes says this approach has several advantages over using film, which he discussed in detail during his presentation.
Going Stain-Free
Dr. Murphy discussed the challenges of performing quantitative western blots on samples from individual muscle cells.
By using a four-point calibration curve, Dr. Murphy says western blotting can accurately measure subtle changes in protein amounts even from single cells. Using Bio-Rad’s Criterion™ TGX Stain-Free™ Precast Gels, she can normalize her western blots against the total protein in each lane, which she finds to be more accurate than normalizing against the housekeeping protein GADPH. Stain-free gels also give her the ability to verify each step in the experiment. For example, using the stain-free gels she is able to quickly determine, after the electrophoresis step, whether or not the sample is present. She says this step is a necessity due to the challenging nature of collecting single cells.
“My take-home is that if it’s appropriately undertaken, western blotting can be quantitative, very reliable, and extremely valuable in our world of science,” Dr. Murphy said.
Recordings of these presentations can be viewed above or on Bio-Rad’s Life Science Research YouTube page.
About Bio-Rad
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: BIO and BIOb) develops, manufactures, and markets a broad range of innovative products and solutions for the life science research and clinical diagnostic markets. The company is renowned for its commitment to quality and customer service among university and research institutions, hospitals, public health and commercial laboratories, as well as the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and food safety industries. Founded in 1952, Bio-Rad is based in Hercules, California, and serves more than 100,000 research and healthcare industry customers through its global network of operations. The company employs approximately 7,750 people worldwide and had revenues exceeding $2.1 billion in 2013. For more information, visit our website at www.bio-rad.com.
This release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as, “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “intend,” “estimate,” “continue,” or similar expressions or the negative of those terms or expressions. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. For further information regarding the Company's risks and uncertainties, please refer to the “Risk Factors” in the Company’s public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K. The Company cautions you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect an analysis only and speak only as of the date hereof. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Press Contacts:
Ning Liu
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.
510-408-2149
ning_liu@bio-rad.com
Ken Li
Chempetitive Group
312-997-2436 x112
kli@chempetitive.com