Question

What is a western blot immunoassay?

Answer 1

The western blot ( protein immunoblot ) is a widely used analytical technique used to detect specific proteins in a sample of tissue homogenate or extract.

Explanation:

The key elements required to accomplish this task are :

• separation of protein mixtures by size using gel electrophoresis.
• the efficient transfer of separated proteins to a solid support.
• the specific detection of a target protein by approximately matched antibodies.

The ability of western blots to clearly show the presence of a specific protein, both by size and through the binding of an antibody makes them well suited for evaluating levels of protein expression in cells for monitoring fractions during protein purification.

In many cases western blots are used in combination with other key antibodies based detection techniques, such as ELISA or immunohisto chemistry.