My LDS or SDS sample buffer precipitates when stored at 4 degrees C. Can I warm it up? Can I store it at room temperature?
Precipitation of the LDS or SDS at 4 degrees C is normal. Bring the buffer to room temperature and mix until the LDS/SDS goes into solution. If you do not want to wait for it to dissolve, you can store the sample buffer at room temperature.
While they are both Bis-Tris based gels, the chemistries are very different since Bolt gels are optimized for western blotting. Another key difference is the wedge well design of the Bolt gels, which allows larger sample volumes to be loaded.
Can I use CTAB rather than SDS in my sample buffer?
No, CTAB will not work with any of our gels except for the NuPAGE Tris-Acetate gels. To use CTAB, you would need to use a running buffer of 50 mM acetic acid and 50 mM beta-alanine in equal concentrations. You would also need to switch the electrodes. Since CTAB is a cationic detergent, this would establish conditions for running a basic protein towards the anode (into the gel).
Is there a reasonable replacement for the NuPAGE antioxidant for gel electrophoresis?
One can use 0.002% thioglycolic acid in the upper buffer reservoir. This is a good scavenger of free radicals. The reference to this is described by Hunkapiller et al, Methods of Enzymology, (91), 399, 1983. Caution should be taken when using this method since this compound is both toxic and expensive. In addition, the TGA must be fresh as it tends to become oxidized itself over time. Oxidized TGA will actually promote sample re-oxidation.