Plasmid preps are to science what salt is to cooking. They’re so common that nobody notices, but nothing can be done without them. There is no mention of this step in any published paper, nobody mentions them in any activity report, no comments are made on how much time is actually spent on it.

But let’s face it: it takes time, as simple and as usual as it may be. A couple of days, spent here and there. It’s so well planned in your weekly agenda, it’s such a habit, that you don’t even think about it. It’s just routine. When you’ve done a plasmid prep a couple of times, there’s nothing new to learn about it. It’s like riding a bike, once you know how, you don’t even notice any more.

But it takes time…

Neuronal polarity is essential for the proper development, growth, and physiology of neurons. Within neurons, microtubules (MTs) and motor protein polarities are required for establishing and maintaining neuronal polarity. However, unanswered questions remain: 1. Why are some cytoplasmic molecules in axons but not dendrites? 2. How do MAPs become compartmentalized differently in each type of neurite? 3. Why does a neuron have a single axon but multiple dendrites?⁵

To help you, the researcher, to answer these questions (as well as many others regarding MT functions in the central nervous system!) for a number of years now we’ve been providing a reliable range of kits by Cytoskeleton Inc. Their highly useful reagents include the Signal-Seeker Enrichment kits for quantifying levels of endogenous PTMs such as acetylation, tyrosine phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and SUMOylation, as well as purified cytoskeletal proteins (e.g., actins, tubulins, kinesin and dynein motors) and functional assay kits to measure the activities of these same proteins.

In a recently published study, researchers sought to elucidate if 2 treatments modulated immune response or not, despite the available evidence being conflicting. The method that made the difference and allowed them to reach their conclusions, is based on 16 human cytokines using multiplex immunoassays with the Quansys technology.

In a previous post, I introduced the C-series multiplex profiling technology from Raybiotech, a smart way to multiplex your western blot while saving time and sample volume, and decreasing the cost of your experiment.

Indeed, one blot for multiple targets processed at once is a nice way to boost your protein profiling studies!

I just wanted to highlight in this post, that on top of the standard species models like human, mouse and rat, these C-series are also available for many other models. With 15 different species to select from, RayBiotech is leading the way for immunoassay kit species diversity.