protein biochemistry
Expression hosts in outline
How to choose E. coli, yeast, insect or mammalian expression from disulfide bonds, glycosylation and the yield the work needs.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
Topic cluster
Protein biochemistry
Protein gels, quantification, buffers and purification choices explained for research laboratories.
All topicsBuffers and laboratory water26Cell culture26Chromatography26Cold chain and sample storage26Cytometry and microscopy26DNA sequencing26Gels and blotting26Gene expression26Genome editing26Immunoassays26Laboratory labware26Laboratory safety26Liquid handling26Microbiology26Molecular cloning26Nucleic acid purification26PCR and amplification26Protein biochemistry26Proteomics26Research sourcing and study design26
cold chainspecificationproteomicsenquiryglossarytroubleshootingbuffersquantificationexpressionwestern blotpurificationrecordssds pagealiquotsendotoxinmass spectrometryabsorbanceassays
26 articles
protein biochemistry
Glycerol stocks of an expression clone
How a clonal glycerol stock fails: thawing the master, satellite colonies, and trusting an antibiotic plate instead of a sequence.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
protein biochemistry
His-tags and why a band is not pure protein
A His-tag elution can look like one band and still be a mixture. IMAC is a capture step, and a second method is what supports a purity claim.
8 October 2026 · 6 min read
protein biochemistry
How laboratories estimate protein concentration
How laboratories estimate protein concentration with absorbance, dye-binding and copper assays, and why the number depends on the standard.
8 October 2026 · 7 min read
protein biochemistry
Ice buckets and how long a prep really sat out
What to record when a prep is called on ice: clock time, proteases that still work at 4 C, meltwater, and a column stopped by a power cut.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
protein biochemistry
Inclusion bodies and refolding as a concept
An inclusion body is insoluble expression, not proof a protein can never fold. Refolding is empirical, and activity rather than a band shows success.
8 October 2026 · 7 min read
protein biochemistry
Loading controls are for blots not every gel
Actin, GAPDH and tubulin support a blot loading argument. A purification gel is judged by the band pattern and the total protein you loaded.
8 October 2026 · 6 min read
protein biochemistry
Protease inhibitors and when they interfere
Protease inhibitor classes stop different enzymes. EDTA, PMSF, AEBSF, pepstatin and leupeptin can also block the activity or the resin you wanted.
8 October 2026 · 6 min read
protein biochemistry
Questions for a protein expression enquiry
The sequence, tag, host, modification, purity evidence, endotoxin need and assay buffer a protein expression enquiry has to carry.
8 October 2026 · 9 min read
Pillar · protein biochemistry
Reading a protein gel
How to read a protein gel: what SDS-PAGE bands, smears, ladders and loading differences can support, and what they cannot identify.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
protein biochemistry
Reducing agents and disulfide bonds
DTT, beta-mercaptoethanol and TCEP break disulfides in different ways. Reducing and non-reducing gels ask whether oligomers are covalently linked.
8 October 2026 · 8 min read
protein biochemistry
Storing proteins without inventing a stability claim
Store proteins as aliquots, record the conditions you used, and follow the source. There is no universal stability claim that fits every polypeptide.
8 October 2026 · 6 min read