Search
Search
View additional product information for STAT5b [pY699] Phospho-ELISA Kit, Human - FAQs (KHO5721)
8 product FAQs found
Our phosphospecific ELISA kits have several advantages, including ease of use and increased sensitivity. Phosphospecific ELISA kits are typically 2-10 times more sensitive than western blots, so they are particularly useful for the detection of “low-expressing” proteins or for small sample sizes. In addition, with the use of the recombinant standards provided in the kit, phosphospecific ELISAs provide quantitative results without having to perform densitometry.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Antibodies and Immunoassays Support Center.
In order to evaluate phosphorylation levels, we report comparative levels of protein phosphorylation in units of phosphoprotein per pg or ng of total protein. The total ELISA kit quantifies the mass of protein per sample, and the phosphospecific ELISA kit quantifies the phosphorylation level of that protein in units. One can then determine if phosphorylation levels (in units/pg, for instance) of various samples are similar or different.
Example: Two samples are tested for total CREB and CREB [pS133]
Sample 1 results: The total assay (KHO0231) shows 100 pg/mL of CREB in the sample. The phosphospecific ELISA (KHO0241) shows 50 units/mL of CREB [pS133]. In this sample, CREB is phosphorylated at serine 133 to the level of (50 units/mL)/(100 pg/mL) = 0.5 units/pg of total CREB.
Sample 2 results: The total assay shows 95 pg/mL of CREB in the sample. The phosphospecific ELISA results show 5 units/mL of CREB [pS133]. In this sample, CREB is phosphorylated at serine 133 to the level of (5 units/mL)/(95 pg/mL) = 0.053 units/pg of total CREB. When you compare sample 1 with sample 2, you see a 10-fold difference in the level of phosphorylation of CREB at serine 133, even though the amount of total CREB protein is nearly unchanged.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Antibodies and Immunoassays Support Center.
The results of our total ELISAs are given in pg/mL of sample, or sometimes ng/mL. This measurement is always given in mass units because standards of known mass are used to prepare the standard curve. The results of the phosphospecific ELISAs are given in “units”, which we do not relate to a particular mass of protein. We use units because it is difficult to precisely know the efficiency of a particular phosphorylation reaction, and therefore the ratio of phosphorylated to unphosphorylated protein, in a particular preparation of phosphoprotein standard. Phosphorylation units will be unique to each phosphospecific ELISA and are described within the product manual that accompanies each kit.
For example, a typical unit description would be “1 unit = the amount of FAK [pY397] derived from 300 pg of auto-phosphorylated FAK protein”. Since there is no guarantee that the FAK in our standard preparation is 100% phosphorylated, we refrain from making the statement that this corresponds to 300 pg of phosphorylated FAK. Instead, we validate a large batch of phosphorylated protein and use this to develop our unit definition and standard curve for our original assay. Subsequent preparations of our protein standards are normalized to the original batch of protein to ensure that our unit definitions remain constant from lot to lot.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Antibodies and Immunoassays Support Center.
Both types of ELISA kits capture total protein, regardless of its phosphorylation state, within the wells of a plastic 96-well plate. This is done by coating the wells with a “pan-antibody” that does not distinguish between the phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms of a protein and does not block the phosphorylation site to be studied. In addition, a phosphospecific ELISA kit quantifies the amount of that same protein that is phosphorylated on one or more specific amino acids. Instead of a second pan-antibody for detection, this assay uses an antibody that specifically recognizes an epitope that is only present on a protein when it is phosphorylated specifically (i.e., it is phosphospecific).
We recommend running the total and phosphospecific ELISAs simultaneously with the same samples. If this is not possible, make sure to test the same samples with both kits as soon as possible.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Antibodies and Immunoassays Support Center.
All ELISA kits are provided in the sandwich ELISA format with capture antibody already coated onto a 96 well plate. Typical detection uses a biotinylated detection antibody followed by Streptavidin-HRP and HRP substrate. Most kits are available as single 96-well plate kits, some are available as 2- and 5-plate kits. Kits typically contain:
96 Well Strip Plate coated with capture antibody
Standard protein
Wash buffer, 10x
ELISA buffer/Diluent, 10x
Detection antibody (in most kits, biotinylated)
HRP Reagent (either secondary antibody or streptavidin conjugated to HRP)(100x)
Substrate (usually TMB)
Stop solution
Adhesive plate covers
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Antibodies and Immunoassays Support Center.
Running internal controls along with the blanks and the standard curve is an excellent way to monitor the performance of any ELISA kit. Internal controls are samples containing known amounts of the analyte being measured with the kit. A key attribute of internal controls, and what differentiates them from the samples of the standard curve, is that they duplicate the composition of your actual samples as closely as possible. This is important because your samples may contain components that affect detection of the analyte differently than does the Standard Diluent provided in the kit. In other words, internal controls allow you to determine if assaying the same amount of analyte in the Standard Diluent (the standard curve) and in the sample matrix (internal controls) gives the same results. It's also important to remember that internal controls give you confidence in the accuracy of your results. Internal controls help ensure that the assay is performing consistently from assay to assay, every time you run it.
One source of internal controls is naturally occurring samples (such as serum or plasma) containing known amounts of the analyte you want to measure. Such positive control samples can be run as-is, or they can be diluted to various known concentrations, preferably with a naturally occurring negative sample of the same type. It's a good idea to run at least 2 internal controls, if you can. One usually has an analyte concentration between the lowest point on the standard curve and the curve's midpoint, while the other has a concentration between the midpoint and the highest concentration. Some researchers also run an internal control that falls close to the midpoint of the curve.
If you don't have access to naturally occurring controls, you can prepare them yourself. Let's say that you will be measuring interleukin-6 (IL-6) in human serum samples with an ELISA kit, Cat. No. KHC0061. First you will need to obtain some pooled normal human sera, which will be used as the sample matrix for your internal controls. Preferably, the IL-6 content of this serum should be negligible (but known) or too low to measure. Next you should add known amounts of human IL-6 to this serum to create the internal controls, using the human IL-6 standard provided in the kit. After you prepare the standard curve as described in the product manual, add some of the leftover concentrated IL-6 standard to the serum matrix. As described above, you can prepare controls with high and low IL-6 levels, or high, medium, and low, if you have enough wells in your ELISA plate.
Even if your sample type is not serum and you're not measuring IL-6, follow the general procedure outlined above to prepare your internal controls with your protein and sample matrix of interest. A valuable resource describing Spike and Recovery and Linearity of Dilution assays can be found here (http://tools.thermofisher.com/content/sfs/brochures/TR0058-Spike-and-Recovery.pdf). If you need more help, please contact Technical Support at techsupport@thermofisher.com.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Antibodies and Immunoassays Support Center.
Our ELISA kits can be categorized into several different groups (see Table 2, Page 35 of the Protein Analysis Handbook - http://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/global/forms/protein-handbook-registration.html), based on a number of factors: target protein class, sensitivity, readout method, or ability to detect specific phosphorylation states of the target protein.
Standard colorimetric ELISA kits use a standard colorimetric readout and allow excellent sensitivity and detection range. Typical sensitivity is less than 10 pg/mL and standard curve range is around 10-250 pg/mL, although there are some kits with wider ranges.
Ultrasensitive ELISA kits use a standard colorimetric readout but enable detection and analysis of proteins to levels as low as 0.5 pg/mL. With measurement range of 0.5-20 pg/mL, these kits are especially useful with highly diluted samples.
Chemi ELISA kits use chemiluminescence detection for high sensitivity (less than 1 pg/mL) and are highly flexible with a wide measurement range from 0.5 to 2000 pg/mL.
Phospho ELISA kits enable the specific detection of phosphorylation of key signaling proteins with high specificity, and are often used to supplement western blot results and provide quantitative data.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Antibodies and Immunoassays Support Center.
We offer full ELISA kits, Reagent Sets and Antibody Pairs. ELISA kits are complete, ready-to-use kits with pre-coated plates, all buffers, capture, and detection antibodies included. Most kits are single plate format, but some are available in 2- or 5-plate formats. Reagent Sets are for researchers who need the core kit components but prefer to make their own buffers and coat their own plates. Antibody Pairs are matched pairs of detection and capture antibodies for researchers who need to process large numbers of samples.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Antibodies and Immunoassays Support Center.