ChromoBlog

Introduction

Fluorescent proteins (FPs) have been used as protein tags since the mid-1990s mainly for cell biology and fluorescence microscopy. These tags have not only revolutionized cell biology by enabling the imaging of almost any protein, they are also used in biochemical applications. An important example is the immunoprecipitation and affinity purification of FP-tagged proteins, which was enabled by the development of affinity resins with high yield, purity, and affinity such as ChromoTek’s Nano-Traps (https://www.chromotek.com/products/detail/product-detail/nano-traps/).

Topics: Immunoprecipitation, Immunofluorescence, Nanobody, mNeonGreen, GFP Nanobody, GFP Antibody, TurboGFP, EGFP, Western blot

Nano-Secondaries are monoclonal Nanobodies that bind to primary antibodies in a species and subtype specific manner, i.e. Nano-Secondaries are very precise secondary antibodies. They are recombinantly produced in bacterial or other animal-free expression systems; in contrast, classical mono- or polyclonal secondary antibodies are traditionally produced using hybridoma technologies or are isolated from a host’s blood.

Topics: Secondary antibody, Validation, recombinat expression, Nano-Secondaries

Jellyfish Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and its derivatives are still the most frequently used fluorescent proteins in biomedical research. Recently, additional green fluorescent proteins have been discovered in higher animals such as crustaceans and lancelets. These FPs share a common fold, but diverge widely in their primary sequence. Thus, they require novel, dedicated antibody research tools. Here is an overview about EGFP (the most commonly used GFP derivative), TurboGFP and mNeonGreen.

Topics: Nanobody, mNeonGreen, mNeonGreen immunoprecipitation, GFP, GFP Immunoprecipitation, TurboGFP, TurboGFP immunoprecipitation, EGFP

A collaboration between ChromoTek GmbH and Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (Germany) has yielded a novel nanobody that sheds new light on an important protein complex called INO80. This work was recently published in the high-impact journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (Knoll et al. 2018).

Topics: Immunoprecipitation, Nanobody, Crystallisation

We are happy to present an updated list of scientific publications that have been published based on data generated by Myc-Trap. See detailed list below.

Topics: Nano-Traps, Myc-tag IP, Myc Nanobody, Myc-Trap

Chromotek’s GFP- binding protein, an anti- GFP Nanobody, is a very small and effective tool for binding and visualizing GFP-tagged proteins. In their recent publication, Modi et al. successfully functionalized quantum dots with the GFP- Nanobody (QD GFP- Nanobody). Thus, they created a small GFP- specific label with a very strong fluorescent signal.

Topics: GFP Nanobody, RFP Nanobody, Quantum dots, single particle tracking, Quantum dot Nanobody

TurboGFP is a bright green fluorescent protein used to study protein function, localization and dynamics in cells. Nanobody based research tools allow reproducible biochemical analysis including mass spectrometry and enzyme activity measurements of TurboGFP fusion proteins.

Topics: Immunoprecipitation, TurboGFP, TurboGFP immunoprecipitation, Best TurboGFP antibody, TurboGFP Nanobody

You may have noticed the recent publication “A peptide tag-specific nanobody enables high-quality labeling for STORM imaging” of Virant et al (2018) in Nature Communications doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03191-2, where for the first time a peptide-tag specific Nanobody was applied in dSTORM imaging: The authors have described and discussed the performance of a BC2 peptide-tag specific Nanobody to image BC2 peptide tag fusion proteins in super resolution microscopy, i.e. dSTORM. This Blog features that BC2 peptide-tag specific Nanobody, which ChromoTek markets under the names Spot-Label® and Spot-Trap®. In addition, this Blog figures the significantly improved version of the BC2 peptide -tag, which is called Spot-Tag®.

Topics: Nanobody, Spot-Tag, Capture/detection System, Spot Nanobody, Spot-Trap, Spot-Label, Spot super resolution microscopy, Spot STED, Spot immunofluorescence, BC2tag

What makes on-bead digestion favorable?

Just pull down your protein of interest with immobilized nanobodies, also termed V_HHs or single domain antibodies. Then follow the on-bead digestion protocol (see below) and submit the digest to your core facility for effective mass spectrometer analysis of (co-) precipitated proteins.

Topics: GFP-Trap, GFP Immunoprecipitation, GFP VHH, GFP Nanobody, on-bead digestion, GFP mass spec

Life science laboratories apply green fluorescent proteins (GFP) to study protein localization, interaction and dynamics in fluorescence microscopy. Immunoprecipitation (IP), mass spectrometry (MS), co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) and/or affinity purification investigate more aspects including posttranslational modifications (PTMs), DNA binding, and protein-protein interaction. Here, we compare two different antibody systems for immunoprecipitation of GFP-fusion proteins: GFP-Trap and anti-GFP IgG antibody

Topics: GFP-Trap, GFP, GFP Immunoprecipitation, Best GFP antibody for IP, Best antibody for immunoprecipitation, GFP VHH, GFP Nanobody