Spectra™ Multicolor Broad Range Protein Ladder, 10 x 250 μL - FAQs

以下是一些可能的原因和解决方案：

- 凝胶上的分子量标准品的量不足： 将适当体积的分子量标准品上样到凝胶上。以下是我们的建议：
•小型凝胶：每孔5μL（厚度0.75-1.0 mm）或每孔10μL（厚度1.5 mm）
•大凝胶：每孔10μL（厚度0.75-1.0 mm）或每孔20μL（厚度1.5 mm）

- 转印不完全或不理想： 优化转印条件

以下是一些可能的原因和解决方案：

- 样品被煮沸： 丢弃煮沸的等分样品。
- 使用的分子量标准品体积过大：使用前加入较少的体积或稀释蛋白质上样缓冲液中的分子量标准品。

褪色最可能是由于封闭/洗涤液中的洗涤剂将一些蛋白质从膜上洗脱造成的。染料本身不会从蛋白质上洗脱，因为它们是共价结合的。我们已经发现较小孔径的膜可以在封闭和洗涤过程中更好地保留蛋白质，因此，为了获得绝佳的分辨率和蛋白质保留率，推荐使用0.2 µm代替0.45 µm的膜。转印后，可以用铅笔在膜上圈出预染条带，从而在封闭和处理后仍可辨认条带位置。

•降低电压、电流或缩短转印时间
•确保转膜缓冲液的甲醇浓度合适；可使用浓度为10–20%的甲醇，从而去除SDS-蛋白质复合物中的SDS，并促进蛋白质与膜的结合。
•确保转膜缓冲液的SDS浓度合适（若加入了SDS），SDS浓度不要超过0.02–0.04%。过多的SDS会阻碍蛋白质与膜的结合。过多的SDS会阻碍蛋白质与膜的结合。
•检查膜的孔径和靶标蛋白质的大小。小于10kDa的蛋白质很容易穿过0.45μm孔径的膜。如果您的目标蛋白质小于10 kDa，那么最好使用0.2μm孔径的膜。

•增加电压、电流或转印时间
•凝胶和SDS-蛋白质复合物中的SDS会促进蛋白质从凝胶中洗脱，但抑制蛋白质与膜的结合。这种抑制作用在硝化纤维素膜上的强度大于PVDF膜。对于难以从凝胶中洗脱的蛋白质，如大分子量蛋白质，可在转膜缓冲液中加入少量SDS以改善转印效果。我们建议在组装三明治前将凝胶置于含0.02–0.04% SDS的2x转膜缓冲液（无甲醇）中预平衡10分钟，然后使用含10%甲醇和0.01% SDS的1X转膜缓冲液进行转印。
•甲醇可去除SDS-蛋白质复合物中的SDS，促进蛋白质与膜的结合，但对凝胶本身有一些不良影响，会降低转印效率。甲醇可能导致孔径减小、某些蛋白质发生沉淀以及一些碱性蛋白质带正电荷或变为中性。应确保转膜缓冲液的甲醇浓度不高于10–20%，并使用高质量的分析级甲醇。

预染标准品具有与每种蛋白质共价结合的染料，这将导致标准品在不同的缓冲系统（即不同的凝胶）中迁移率不同。因此，使用预染标准品进行分子量估算将仅得出蛋白质的表观分子量。预染标准品可用于分子量估算、确认凝胶迁移和估算转膜效率，但对于需要精确估算分子量的应用，应使用非预染标准品。

•上样时，请注意确保相邻样品泳道没有交叉污染。
•确保每个泳道上标准品的量都是正确的。蛋白质上样过多会导致产生额外的条带，这个问题在使用银染凝胶时尤为突出。
•标准品储存不当或反复冻融会导致蛋白质降解。

建议如下：

•确保每个泳道上标准品的量都是正确的。蛋白质上样过多会导致模糊，这个问题在使用银染凝胶时尤为突出。
•条带在低百分比凝胶中不能很好地分辨。尝试使用更高百分比的凝胶。
•如果在转膜/检测后条带看起来不明显和模糊，可能是由于抗体浓度过高。遵循制造商建议的稀释度或通过斑点印迹确定最适抗体浓度。

建议如下：

•检查使用的凝胶类型/凝胶百分比。可能会由于凝胶类型和/或百分比的不同而不能看到所有条带。例如，蛋白质标准品的最小条带可能不能在非常低百分比的凝胶上分辨，而较高分子量条带可能不能在高百分比凝胶上分辨。
•检查蛋白质分子量标准品的有效日期。由于蛋白质降解，过期批次可能导致条带褪色或缺失。
•检查蛋白质分子量标准品的储存条件。不适当的储存条件会损害标准品中蛋白质的稳定性。
•确保蛋白质分子量标准品在上样到凝胶上之前未加热/煮沸。我们的蛋白质分子量标准品可直接上样，我们不建议将其加热/煮沸，因为这可能会导致标准品中的蛋白质降解。

Coupling of chromophores to proteins affects the apparent molecular weight of proteins in SDS-PAGE relative to unstained standards. The apparent molecular weight of prestained protein standards is calibrated in the classical TRIS glycine-SDS Laemmli system, however prestained proteins may have different mobility in other electrophoresis buffer and gel systems. It should also be noted that the sizing of proteins by gel electrophoresis does not give an exact value and depends on the protein sequence and post-modification.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Assays and Analysis Support Center.

The upper bands of the ladder may be degraded by proteases. Ladder, gel, buffer, pipettes, pipette tips, or equipment can be contaminated by proteases during usage. A general recommendation would be to avoid working with proteases in the same room. We would recommend preparing fresh solutions, cleaning the equipment, and using clean pipettes and tips. If the ladder itself is contaminated, please use a new tube of the ladder.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Assays and Analysis Support Center.

No, proteins in Thermo Scientific protein ladders are not His tagged. However, non-specific interaction between the ladder proteins and primary or secondary antibodies is possible and some His-Tag detection systems, such as Thermo Scientific 6xHis Protein Tag Stain Reagent Kit, show non-specific interaction. The protein ladder bands are more readily detected when using high antibody concentrations. The non-specific cross-reactivity is difficult to predict, it often has a different pattern dependent on the antibodies used in each individual experiment. The most general way to handle this problem would be to use lower concentrations of antibodies and to use lower amount of protein ladders. It may also be useful to leave one empty well between the ladder and the sample to overcome a possible leakage of the signal to the nearby sample lane.

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PageRuler Unstained protein ladders can be detected directly on Western blots by using Strep-Tactin conjugates or an antibody against the Strep-tag II sequence. All PageRuler and Spectra ladder proteins contain an integral Strep-tag II sequence, however the prestained ladders cannot be detected by Strep-Tactin conjugates.

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All PageRuler and Spectra ladder bands are recombinant prokaryotic proteins purified from E. coli cells. None of them are related to eukaryotic proteins, however this cannot exclude the possibility that the ladder proteins may possess an epitope that is cross-reactive with the antibody used.

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Protein ladder bands can sometimes be detected with chemiluminescent techniques due to non-specific interactions of ladder proteins with either primary or secondary antibodies (or with both). The ladder bands are only rarely detected by chromogenic substrates. The extremely high sensitivity of the chemiluminescent assays is needed to see the bands, so the actual degree of cross-reactivity is low. The non-specific cross-reactivity is difficult to predict, it often has a different pattern depending on the antibodies used. If antibodies recognize a linear epitope, the cross-reactivity may be due to sequence homology. If antibodies react with a denaturation-resistant conformational epitope it could be impossible to identify the exact reason for detected cross-reactivity. The most general way to handle this problem would be to use lower concentrations of antibodies.

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No. Thermo Scientific protein ladders contain a mix of recombinant prokaryotic proteins purified from E. coli cells. E. coli does not have native glycosylation pathways, so none of the ladder proteins are glycosylated.

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Thermo Scientific ladders are not designed for protein quantification. For quantification, we would recommend to use a protein of known concentration as a reference.

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Yes, PageRuler Prestained NIR Protein Ladder (Cat. No. 26635) contains proteins that are blue-stained and fluor-labeled for near-IR fluorescent visualization and protein sizing following electrophoresis.

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Protein ladders can be run on lower percentage gels than we recommend, however it should be expected that several bands of lower molecular weight proteins will run out of the gel if the gel is run until the dye front reaches the bottom of the gel. In case of shorter electrophoresis time it is also possible that some lower bands will not separate and will be covered by the dye front. In addition, lower molecular weight protein bands may look diffused. The lower percentage gels can be used in cases when the customer is interested in visualization of large proteins only.

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Most of the common gel running buffers are composed of Tris-glycine or Tris-tricine. Tris-glycine buffer systems are useful for separation of proteins over a wide range of molecular weights (5-300 kDa) and are compatible with denaturing or non-denaturing conditions. Tris-tricine buffer is generally recommended for the electrophoresis of low molecular weight proteins and peptides (<10 kDa) that need to be reduced and denatured prior to loading. Tris-acetate buffer system is used for separation of larger proteins (>200 kDa).

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Prestained ladders/markers are recommended for approximate determination of molecular weight and for monitoring the progress of the electrophoresis run and the efficiency of protein transfer to membranes during Western blotting procedures. Unstained ladders/markers are used for precise determination of molecular weights in any denaturing buffer system.

We do not provide the exact or approximate concentration of proteins in Thermo Scientific protein ladders, and they are not meant to be used for quantifying the protein concentration of a band. For densitometry assessment, we recommend loading a known amount of a protein standard and determining the linear range according to the gel or membrane stain used.

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Here are possible causes and solutions:

- Not enough volume of ladder loaded on the gel: Load an appropriate volume of the ladder onto the gel. Here are our recommendations:
--- Mini-gel: 5 µL per well (0.75-1.0 mm thick) or 10 µL per well (1.5 mm thick)
--- Large gel: 10 µL per well (0.75-1.0 mm thick) or 20 µL per well (1.5 mm thick)
- Incomplete or poor transfer: Optimize transfer conditions

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Here are possible causes and solutions:

Here are possible causes and solutions:

- Ladder was boiled: Discard boiled aliquot.
- Too much volume of ladder used: Add less volume or dilute the ladder in protein loading buffer prior to use.

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The fading is most likely due to detergent in the western blocking/washing solutions that can remove some of the proteins from the membrane. The dye itself will not wash off of the proteins because it is covalently bound. We have found that smaller pore size membranes retain the proteins better during blocking and wash procedures, and hence recommend use of 0.2 µm instead of 0.45 µm membranes for best resolution and protein retention. After transfer, it is a good idea to circle the pre-stained bands with a pencil on the membrane, so band positions can be identified after blocking and processing.

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- Decrease voltage, current or length of transfer time
- Make sure that the methanol concentration in the transfer buffer is proper; use a methanol concentration of 10-20% methanol removes the SDS from SDS-protein complexes and improves the binding of protein to the membrane.
- Make sure that the SDS concentration (if added) in the transfer buffer is proper, don't use more than 0.02-0.04% SDS. Using too much SDS can prevent binding of proteins to the membrane.
- Check the pore size of the membrane and the size of the target protein. Proteins smaller than 10 kDa will easily pass through a 0.45 µm pore size membrane. If proteins smaller than 10 kDa are of interest, it would be better to use a 0.2 µm pore size membrane.

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- Increase voltage, current or length of time for transfer
- SDS in the gel and in the SDS-protein complexes promotes elution of the protein from the gels but inhibits binding of the protein to membranes. This inhibition is higher for nitrocellulose than for PVDF. For proteins that are difficult to elute from the gel such as large molecular weight proteins, a small amount of SDS may be added to the transfer buffer to improve transfer. We recommend pre-equilibrating the gel in 2X Transfer buffer (without methanol) containing 0.02-0.04% SDS for 10 minutes before assembling the sandwich and then transferring using 1X transfer buffer containing 10% methanol and 0.01%SDS.
- Methanol removes the SDS from SDS-protein complexes and improves the binding of protein to the membrane, but has some negative effects on the gel itself, leading to a decrease in transfer efficiency. It may cause a reduction in pore size, precipitation of some proteins, and some basic proteins to become positively charged or neutral. Make sure that the methanol concentration in the transfer buffer is not more than 10-20% and that high-quality, analytical grade methanol is used.

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Pre-stained standards have a dye that is covalently bound to each protein that will result in the standard migrating differently in different buffer systems (i.e., different gels). As a result, using a pre-stained standard for molecular weight estimation will only give the apparent molecular weight of the protein. Pre-stained standards may be used for molecular weight approximation, confirming gel migration and estimating blotting efficiency but for accurate molecular weight estimation, an unstained standard should be used.

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- While loading, take care to make sure that there is no cross-contamination from adjacent sample lanes.
- Make sure that the correct amount of standard is loaded per lane. Loading too much protein can result in extra bands and this is a problem especially with silver-stained gels.
- Improper storage of the standard or repeated freeze/thawing can result in protein degradation.

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Here are some suggestions:

- Make sure that the correct amount of standard is loaded per lane. Loading too much protein can cause smearing and this is a problem especially with silver stained gels.
- Bands will not be as well resolved in low percentage gels. Try using a higher percentage gel.
- If the bands look smeary and non-distinct after a western transfer/detection, this may be due to the antibody being too concentrated. Follow the manufacturer's recommended dilution or determine the optimal antibody concentration by dot-blotting.

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Here are some suggestions:

- Check the gel type/percentage of the gel that was used. Depending on the gel type and/or percentage, all the bands may not be seen. For example, the smallest bands of the protein standard may not resolve on a very low percentage gel whereas the higher molecular weight bands may not resolve on a high percentage gel.
- Check the expiration date on the protein standard. Expired lots may result in faded or missing bands due to protein degradation.
- Check the storage conditions for the protein standard. Improper storage conditions will compromise the stability of the proteins in the standard.
- Make sure that the protein standard was not heated/boiled prior to loading on the gel. Our protein standards are ready to load and we do not recommend heating/boiling them as this may cause degradation of proteins in the standard.

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The Spectra Protein Ladders contain recombinant prokaryotic proteins and do not contain any animal-derived proteins.

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The Spectra Multicolor Broad Range Protein Ladder is a mixture of 10 recombinant prestained proteins ranging from 10 kDa to 260 kDa, for use in gel electrophoresis and western blotting. Four different chromophores are bound to the proteins, producing a brightly colored ladder.

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We recommend storing the Spectra Protein Ladders at -20 degrees C where they are stable for a year. The Spectra Multicolor Broad Range Protein Ladder and Spectra Multicolor High Range Protein Ladder are stable for up to 3 months at 4 degrees C. The Spectra Multicolor Low Range Protein Ladder is stable for up to 2 months at 4 degrees C.

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Zymogram gels are essentially Tris-Glycine gels containing the substrate. Protein standards run based solely on the percentage of acrylamide and hence should run the same in both kinds of gels. It is quite possible though that if the standard is prestained, the proteins will appear a different color because of the staining (or pre-staining) of the Zymogram gels.

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Our protein standards are not designed for protein quantitation.

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We do not recommend using our prestained standards for native gel electrophoresis since they are already denatured (in SDS sample buffer) and pre-reduced (by a proprietary method), and will not resolve well in under native conditions.

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We recommend using unstained protein ladders for molecular weight estimation applications as prestained ladders have a dye that is covalently bound to each protein that will result in the ladder migrating differently in different buffer systems (i.e., different gels). As a result, using a prestained ladder for molecular weight estimation will only give the apparent molecular weight of the protein. Prestained ladders may be used for molecular weight approximation, confirming gel migration and estimating blotting efficiency but for accurate molecular weight estimation, an unstained ladder should be used.

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Please find this information in the respective manuals for the individual protein standards.

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Our protein standards are ready to load. We do not recommend heating them as this may cause protein degradation.

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Except for our NativeMark Unstained Protein Standard (designed for native electrophoresis), all of the other unstained and prestained standards we offer (Invitrogen Sharp, SeeBlue, SeeBlue Plus2, BenchMark, HiMark) have been pre-reduced (by a proprietary method). Hence, you do not need to add reducing agent.

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