Bio-Rad Introduces New Mini-PROTEAN® TGX Stain-Free™ Precast Gels

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. announced today that it has launched its Mini-PROTEAN TGX (Tris-Glycine eXtended) Stain-Free precast gels, providing researchers with the fastest separation and imaging capabilities available for Laemmli PAGE. The gels include a unique trihalo compound that allows rapid fluorescent detection of proteins in gels or on membranes without the need for staining.

Polyacrylamide gel staining methods that follow Coomassie protocols can take up to two hours to complete. When researchers use the Mini-PROTEAN TGX Stain-Free precast gels as part of Bio-Rad’s V3 Western Workflow™ they can achieve complete protein separation, gel imaging, and data analysis in 20 minutes.

The V3 Western Workflow increases speed at every step — from protein separation to transfer verification. Researchers can transfer proteins from the Mini-PROTEAN TGX Stain-Free precast gels onto membranes in three minutes using the Trans-Blot® Turbo™ transfer system. They can then visualize and verify protein transfer directly on the membrane with stain-free imagers such as Bio-Rad’s Gel Doc™ EZ or ChemiDoc™ MP imagers. This eliminates the need for staining, thus saving time while increasing the rate of success for western blotting experiments.

“It’s critical for experiments to be both time- and cost-effective,” said Dr David Warren Pryce, PhD, principal investigator, North West Cancer Research Fund Institute, Bangor University, Wales UK. “Since using Bio-Rad’s Mini-PROTEAN TGX Stain-Free precast gels and buffers and the Trans-Blot Turbo transfer system, I have found that analysis that once took — at minimum — 1.5 hours to prepare and perform can now be completed in 20 minutes. We routinely use slightly less sample and far fewer reagents and continue to see excellent gel-to-gel consistency and significantly faster experimental throughput without a considerable overall cost increase per result.”

Researchers can produce high-quality images using the Gel Doc EZ or ChemiDoc MP imaging systems in as little as 2.5 minutes. A UV-induced reaction between the gel’s trihalo compounds and the tryptophan residues of the proteins results in fluorescence that is easily detected in gels and on PVDF membranes after transfer.

Other key benefits of Mini-PROTEAN TGX Stain-Free precast gels include:

• Greater transfer efficiency: proteins can be transferred onto PVDF or nitrocellulose membranes in as little as 3 minutes with the Trans-Blot Turbo system
• Versatility: the same gel can be used for western blotting, standard staining methods, and mass spectrometry analysis of proteins
• Cost-effectiveness: unlike other precast gels, which require specialized buffer systems and stains, the Mini-PROTEAN TGX Stain-Free precast gels use inexpensive standard Laemmli buffer, keeping running costs low

Bio-Rad’s patented long shelf life TGX™ formulation allows Mini-PROTEAN TGX Stain-Free gels to be stored for up to 12 months without sacrificing performance quality. Gels are currently available in 7.5%, 10%, 12%, and a unique formulation, Any kD™, which offers optimal resolution in the 20–100 kD molecular weight range.

For product details or to order Mini-PROTEAN TGX Stain-Free gels, visit the company website.