Instant Blue
Product name
InstantBlue Coomassie Protein Stain (ISB1L)
General notes
InstantBlue is a ready-to-use Coomassie protein stain for polyacrylamide gels. Its unique mechanism of action stains proteins in 15 minutes, leaving a clear background that eliminates the need to fix, wash, or destain. Formulated for safe use and easy disposal, it is ready to use straight from the bottle and comes in convenient one-liter premix bottles.
Why InstantBlue Protein Stain?
There is no need to wash, fix, microwave, or destain the gels when using InstantBlue™. Homemade stains and pre-made solutions require several or all of these additional steps. InstantBlue uses a simple, one-step protocol. The unique patented mechanism for rapid Coomassie blue staining of protein gels starts within moments and results are achieved within 15 minutes. Some traditional and precast home Coomassie R-250 protein stains can take three hours or more to fully stain the gels and then require destaining, typically overnight.
Unmatched sensitivity allows the detection of protein levels as low as 5 ng per band (BSA) when stained overnight. This is thanks to InstantBlue’s protein-specific staining, which provides a clear background and improves the signal-to-noise ratio of staining. Despite the staining power, gels can be left in InstantBlue for weeks and still come out with a crystal clear background, all without the need for destaining or protein stain remover.
The non-toxic formula is disposable and thanks to its methanol-free composition it will not shrink the gels. Other stains require solvent removal procedures and may require microwaves, which produce dangerous fumes. InstantBlue’s effective staining and safe composition mean there’s no need for microwaves, solvent removal, or fume hoods.
InstantBlue will stain at least 40 mini gels per bottle, with economic staining at only 25ml per mini gel. As a result, this allows you to use less protein staining solution compared to 50-100 ml staining per gel for homemade solutions and some premixed solutions. Fully compatible with mass spectrometry, gels can be destained using standard procedures. The protein staining solution’s acetic acid-free formulation means that it will not methylate or acetylate the protein during the protein staining protocol.
Key benefits
- Ultra-fast staining: results in 15 minutes or less
- One-step procedure: no washing, setting, microwaving or bleaching
- High sensitivity: 5 ng bands detectable
- Light background: high signal-to-noise ratio
- Flexible: no overstaining
- Reliable: strict batch-to-batch consistency
- Efficient: only 25 ml per gel
- Safe composition: non-toxic; no fume hood or solvent removal required
- No methanol: no gel shrinkage or protein methylation
- Acetic Acid-Free: No protein acetylation
- Compatible with mass spectrometry: Sustainable. No residual methylation or acetylation
This product is manufactured by Expedeon, an Abcam company. Expedeon product code ISB1L was previously called InstantBlue Protein Stain 1 L and is the same as the 1000ml size of this product.
Properties
Form: Liquid
Storage instructions
Shipped at room temperature. Store at +4°C.
Storage buffer
Components: 0.56% Ethanol, 15.19% Phosphoric Acid
Alternative names
- Coomassie stain
- ISB1L
- SDS-PAGE staining
- WB stain
