Bovine serum albumin, the fifth component (BSA, Fraction V), also known as Bovine albumin or Cohn Fraction V, abbreviated as BSA. In addition to its extremely wide laboratory applications, BSA is also commonly used as a blocking agent in immune experiments, including ELISA and Western Blot. As a carrier protein, crosslinking it with haptens and other weak antigens can enhance their immunogenicity in antibody production. In restriction endonuclease digestion reactions, BSA is often used as a reaction stabilizer for some enzymes and can prevent it from adhering to the tube wall and gun tip. BSA is also commonly used in the production process of biopharmaceuticals or as a nutrient for cell and microbial culture. In addition, it is also used as a standard for protein quantitative detection.
The role of bovine serum albumin
1、Maintaining osmotic pressure, providing pH buffering, and acting as a carrier;
2、Used as a standard for protein quantification testing, such as protein quantification in WB;
3、Used as blocking reagents in routine immune experiments, including ELISA, WB, and IHC.
The role of BSA in the buffer of endonucleases
1. BSA is a stabilizer for enzymes, preventing their decomposition and non-specific adsorption.
2. BSA can alleviate the denaturation of some enzymes and alleviate the denaturation caused by unfavorable environmental factors such as heating, surface tension, and chemical factors. As for the mechanism of action, I am not very clear, it may be because it has 17 disulfide bonds in its structure and a thiol group. The chemical reaction of the thiol group is very active, and the disulfide bond has antioxidant and reducing effects, so it can bind to various cations, anions, and small molecules.
3. BSA can prevent enzymes from adsorbing onto the tube wall and causing loss.
Precautions for BSA usage
1. This product is limited to scientific experimental research and cannot be used in clinical diagnosis, treatment, or other fields.
2. The concentration of the fifth component should be appropriate and not too high during application. It is best to prepare and use the prepared solution immediately. Even if the solution is stored at -20 ℃ for a period of time, it may result in higher results.
3. Bovine serum albumin is prone to coagulation when heated to 50 ℃ or above. When heated to 50 ℃ or above, albumin quickly forms hydrophobic aggregates and cannot recover to monomers through cooling. Although low-temperature polymerization may occur to some extent, the ratio is relatively low.
4. The isoelectric point of natural bovine serum albumin (BSA) is 4.6~5.8. After reaction with anhydrous ethylenediamine (EDA) and carbodiimide (EDC), the modified BSA has an isoelectric point of 8.6.
Bovine serum albumin, the fifth component (BSA, Fraction V), can meet most routine experimental needs, such as being used as an immunosuppressant, tissue and cell culture additive, protease stabilizer, and protein quantification standard.
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