For Western blot, an RIPA buffer (containing SDS, deoxycholate, and NP-40) gives strong protein solubilisation. It is widely used because the denaturing SDS step during gel electrophoresis removes residual detergent effects. For ELISA, avoid SDS-containing buffers. SDS denatures antibody epitopes and disrupts sandwich ELISA pair binding. Use a mild NP-40 or Triton X-100 buffer at 0.1 to 1 percent instead.
Sample Preparation
Sample Preparation Reagents & Accessories
Cell lysis buffers and sample prep reagents for reproducible protein and nucleic acid extraction
Downstream results are only as good as the lysis step that precedes your work. You might be preparing samples for Western blot, immunoprecipitation, proteomics, or nucleic acid extraction. Either way, the chemistry has to break cells open completely while protecting your target molecules from degradation.
For your protein work, this means controlling pH, detergent concentration, and inhibitor content. For your nucleic acid work, it means inactivating RNases and DNases at the moment of lysis.
Accessory reagents extend the performance of standard lysis buffers. Co-precipitation carrier reagents improve recovery of your low-abundance nucleic acids. They do this by increasing pellet size during ethanol precipitation. Protein extraction reagents formulated for direct use with your fresh or frozen tissue simplify homogenisation steps.
RNase R is an exonuclease that degrades linear RNA selectively. It is used to enrich circular RNA species ahead of circRNA-focused transcriptomics. This enrichment step takes place before library preparation. It does not replace standard library preparation steps.
Proteinase K enables thorough protein digestion during your nucleic acid extraction. It is then heat-inactivated or removed before enzymatic downstream steps.
Protease inhibitor cocktails protect your proteins from degradation during cell lysis across all workflow scales.
Applications
Nucleic acid extraction from challenging matrices
Carrier co-precipitants, Proteinase K, and RNase inhibitors extend your extraction to FFPE sections, low-input samples, and swabs.
High-throughput proteomics sample prep
Magnetic bead separators in 96-well format, combined with on-plate lysis buffers, support your automated proteomics on liquid-handling robots.
Circular RNA research
RNase R treatment after total RNA extraction degrades linear RNA species, enriching circular RNA for your RNA sequencing or RT-qPCR quantification.
Lysis buffer choice for assay compatibility
Detergent choice affects your assay performance. NP-40 and Triton X-100 suit most immunoassays. SDS buffers need dilution before ELISA or native PAGE.
Ready-to-use tissue lysis reagents
Reagents formulated for fresh or frozen tissue simplify your homogenisation before Western blot, immunoprecipitation, or protein quantification assays.
Nucleic acid purification without a vacuum manifold
Magnetic separators in tube or plate format simplify bead-based purification, replacing the vacuum manifold in your nucleic acid purification.
Frequently asked questions
RNase R is a 3 prime to 5 prime exoribonuclease that degrades linear RNA. It cannot process circular RNA because circular RNA lacks a free 3 prime end. You add it after standard total RNA extraction when your study targets circular RNAs (circRNAs). A typical protocol uses 2 to 4 units of RNase R per microgram of total RNA, incubated at 37 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. This is followed by re-purification to remove the enzyme before library preparation or RT-qPCR.
Carrier co-precipitants such as linear acrylamide or glycogen help when nucleic acid yield is too low to form a visible pellet during ethanol precipitation. This typically applies to inputs below 10 ng or very small samples like single colonies or rare cell populations. The carrier co-precipitates with the nucleic acid. This makes the pellet visible and reduces loss on tube walls, without interfering with most downstream PCR or sequencing reactions.
Plate-format magnetic separators hold a 96-well plate and create a uniform magnetic field across all wells at once. This allows one-step bead capture without centrifugation and enables automated pipetting of supernatant. Tube-format separators work with standard 1.5 mL or 2 mL microcentrifuge tubes. They suit low-throughput or variable-volume protocols where individual tube handling is practical.
Product catalogs
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