I got a high background signal when I used a Pierce Gaussia/Cypridina/Renilla -Firefly Dual Assay Kit. Why is this?
Here are possible causes and solutions:
- Non-specific oxidation of substrate: Use a new sample; Avoid repeated freezing and thawing of the sample.
- Control sample is contaminated: Change pipette tips after each well; Reduce shaker speed during the cell lysis step to avoid contaminating the wells.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Assays and Analysis Support Center.
I got a high signal when I used a Pierce Gaussia/Cypridina/Renilla -Firefly Dual Assay Kit. Why is this?
This could be due to high luciferase expression. Here are some suggestions:
Reduce incubation time before collecting samples. Decrease the integration time on the instrument.Dilute the sample:
Note: A low sample volume can increase assay variability. Dilute the sample and use the recommended volume of 10-20 µL per assay.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Assays and Analysis Support Center.
I got a low signal in my lysate when I used a Pierce Gaussia/Cypridina/Renilla-Firefly Dual Assay Kit. Why is this?
Here are possible causes and solutions:
- Low luciferase expression: Lyse cells in smaller volume of 1X Cell Lysis Buffer; Use a different promoter or growth conditions to improve expression; Increase the integration time on the instrument; Scale up volume of sample and reagent per well.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Assays and Analysis Support Center.
I did not get any signal when I used a Pierce Gaussia/Cypridina/Renilla-Firefly Dual Assay Kit. Why is this?
Here are possible causes and solutions:
- Low transfection efficiency: Optimize transfection conditions using a visual transfection control (e.g., a plasmid over-expressing a fluorescent protein); Verify plasmid DNA quality using restriction digestion and agarose gel electrophoresis; Use only transfection grade DNA - please note that most high-quality plasmid DNA should be supercoiled; Use actively dividing, low-passage cells; Use a different cell type.
- No promoter induction: Incubate cells using promoter-specific inducing conditions; Incubate cells for a longer time after treatment; Change growth conditions to improve expression; Use a different promoter.
- Substrate auto-oxidized: Protect substrate from light and air; Maintain 100X Coelenterazine at -80 degrees C, 100X Vargulin at -20 degrees C, and 100X D-Luciferin at -20 degrees C.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Assays and Analysis Support Center.
I got a high background signal with a Gaussia/Cypridina/Renilla Luciferase Glow/Luciferase Flash assay. What went wrong?
Here are possible causes and solutions:
- Non-specific oxidation of substrate: Use less serum in the cell culture media; Note: Albumin can increase the auto-oxidation of Vargulin; Avoid repeated freezing and thawing of the sample.
- Control sample is contaminated: Use new sample; Change pipette tips after each well.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Assays and Analysis Support Center.