Protein Ladders and Standards (Markers) (2024)

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Protein Ladders and Standards (Markers) (1)

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Prestained Protein Ladders Unstained Protein Ladders Western Blotting Protein Standards IEF and 2D Electrophoresis Protein Standards Resources

Pick the Best Standards for Your Blots!

Just click on the light source in our interactive guide and see how banding pattern changes with light source. This interactive guide helps you pick the best protein standard for your gels and blots.

Try Our Interactive Selection Guide

Featured ProductPrecision Plus Protein Dual Color Standards

  • Brighter for easier target protein identification
  • Stronger band intensity after blot processing
  • Sharper for more accurate MW estimation

Prestained Protein Ladders

Precision Plus Protein Standards have the same gel migration patterns, with three high-intensity reference bands (25, 50, and 75 kD), and provide exceptional lot-to-lot molecular weight consistency.


Dual Color Standards

Kaleidoscope Standards

Dual Xtra Standards

All Blue Standards
Bands 10 10 12 10
Colors 2 5 2 1
MW range 10–250 kD 10–250 kD 2–250 kD 10–250 kD
Band sharpness High High High High
Packaging options Sample (5 applications) 1610374S
50 applications 1610374 1610375 1610377 1610373
250 applications 1610394 1610395 1610397 1610393

Prestained Natural Protein Standards

Prestained natural protein standards for SDS-PAGE and western blotting provide a quick and easy way to monitor protein separation during electrophoresis and to assess transfer efficiency on blots. Each lot of prestained protein standards is individually calibrated for estimating the MW of sample proteins.

Protein Ladders and Standards (Markers) (8)

Important information

Prestained Natural Protein Standards will soon be phased out. We recommend the Precision Plus Protein Prestained Recombinant Protein Standards above as replacements.

Unstained Protein Ladders

Unstained natural protein standards allow accurate MW determination with uniform band intensities on SDS-PAGE gels stained with Coomassie Blue or zinc. Precision Plus Protein Unstained Recombinant Protein Standards are Strep-tagged, enabling immunodetection and molecular weight determination on western blots.


Precision Plus
Protein Unstained
Standards*

Broad-Range
SDS-PAGE
Standards

Low-Range
SDS-PAGE
Standards

Natural High-Range
SDS-PAGE
Standards

Natural Polypeptide
SDS-PAGE
Standards
Bands 10 9 6 5 6
MW range
(Note: Actual weights may vary; lot-specific MWs are included with each vial.)
10–250 kD 6.5–210 kD 14–97 kD 45–200 kD 1.4–26.6 kD
Band sharpness High Low Low Low Low
Packaging options 100 applications 1610363 1610317 1610304 1610303 1610326
500 applications 1610396

* Recommended for use with Bio-Rad's TGX Stain-Free Precast Gels and TGX Stain-Free FastCast Acrylamide handcast gels.

Western Blotting Protein Standards

Western blotting protein standards can be used for both fluorescent visualization and colormetric or chemiluminescent immunodetection on western blots. Precision Plus Protein WesternC Standards are combination protein standards containing ten prestained, Strep-tagged recombinant proteins, enabling both fluorescent visualization on gels and colorimetric or chemiluminescent western blot detection with StrepTactin-AP or StrepTactin-HRP Conjugate.

Protein Ladders and Standards (Markers) (14)
Bands 10
Colors 2
MW range 10–250 kD
Band sharpness High
Packaging options 50 applications Standards only (1610376)
Standards and StrepTactin-HRP Conjugate (1610385)
250 applications Standards only (1610399)
Standards and StrepTactin-HRP Conjugate (1610398)

IEF and 2D Electrophoresis Protein Standards

IEF and 2D protein standards are a mixture of native proteins with isoelectric points (pI) ranging from 4.45 to 9.6, providing reproducible pI calibration in native PAGE or agarose IEF gels. 2-D SDS-PAGE protein standards provide calibrated references for protein pI and molecular weight in the second dimension.


Precision Plus Protein
Prestained Plug Standards

2-D SDS-PAGE
Standards

Isoelectric Focusing
(IEF) Standards
Bands 10 7 9
Colors 1 1
MW range/pI range 10–250 kD 17.5–76 kD, pI 4.5–8.5 pI 4.45–9.6
Packaging
options
24 applications 1610378
Number of applications depends
on staining method
1610320 1610310

* 2-D standards: use 2.5 µl per mini gel for Coomassie staining (200 applications) or 0.5–2.5 µl for silver staining (up to 1,000 applications); use 1.0–5.0 µl for full-length gels (16–20 cm) to yield 100 or up to 500 applications, respectively.
IEF standards: use 5 µl per mini gel for Coomassie staining or 0.5 µl for silver staining to yield 50 or 500 applications, respectively.

Resources

Introducing the Western Blot Learning Center

Perfect your western blotting. Learn from the experts.

Get Tips

  • Protein Standards Selection Guide
    (PDF 291 KB)

    For quick guidance on choosing the best standard for your application.

  • Little Book of Standards
    (PDF 5.12 MB)

    Complete reference information for all of Bio-Rad’s protein standards and nucleic acid standards.

  • Protein Gel Migration Charts

    View banding patterns for Bio-Rad protein standards on Bio-Rad and competitor gels.

  • Free Protein Standards Selection Magnet

    Place this handy selection guide magnet on your refrigerator or lab bench to eliminate the guesswork and make protein standard selection simple.
    Request a Magnet

Protein Ladders and Standards (Markers) (22)

  • Electrophoresis Guide
    (PDF 8.35 MB)

    Theory and techniques, Bio-Rad products, tips and troubleshooting.

  • Protein Blotting Guide
    (PDF 7.11 MB)

    Details on blotting technology, available products, and tips and techniques.

Protein Ladders and Standards (Markers) (2024)

FAQs

What is a protein ladder or marker? ›

Protein molecular weight markers, sometimes referred to as protein standards or protein ladders, are used to estimate the molecular weight of proteins of interest and to monitor the progress of electrophoretic separation or transfer in Western blotting.

What are the protein ladders in SDS-PAGE? ›

Fluorescent protein ladders are used in SDS-PAGE gels or polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (involving tris-glycine buffer). They contain a mixture of proteins that are pre-stained with fluorescent dyes. The bands fluoresce when the light of a specific wavelength falls on them.

How do you read a protein marker? ›

A “protein molecular weight marker” (also called a “ladder”) is typically included on either of the two sides. The marker contains a mixture of proteins, each with a known molecular weight. This allows the user to determine the molecular weight of each protein in the sample.

What is the range of protein markers? ›

These markers come in three ranges: Low (Molecular weight range: 14.3–97.2 kDa), High (Molecular weight range: 44.3–200 kDa) and Broad (Molecular weight range: 6.5–200 kDa).

What is the difference between marker and ladder? ›

DNA marker means a sequence of DNA used to mark a particular location on a particular chromosome while DNA ladder is just DNA fragment of specific size and it could be from any source of DNA .

Why are protein ladders used? ›

Protein ladders, also known as protein markers or protein standards, are used to help estimate the size of proteins separated during electrophoresis. They serve as points of reference because they contain mixtures of highly purified proteins with known molecular weights and characteristics.

What is a standard ladder in gel electrophoresis? ›

Introduction. A DNA ladder is a solution of DNA molecules of different lengths used in agarose or acrylamide gel electrophoresis. It is applied as a reference to estimate the size of unknown DNA molecules that were separated based on their mobility in an electrical field through the gel.

What is the protein standard for SDS-PAGE? ›

To determine the molecular weight of proteins separated in polyacrylamide gels in the presence of SDS (SDS PAGE) SERVA offers various protein markers of natural and recombinant origin. The molecular weight of the markers ranges from 5 kDa up to 245 kDa.

How to use a protein ladder? ›

Note: Dilute the ladder approximately 1/10 in reducing sample buffer for silver staining. 4. Return the unused protein ladder to -20 °C. Load 5 µL of the diluted ladder per well for a mini gel/blot and 10 µL per well for a large gel/blot.

What is a protein standard? ›

Protein standards are mixtures of well-characterized natural or recombinant proteins that are loaded alongside protein samples in a gel. They are used to help monitor electrophoretic separation as well as estimate the size and concentration of the proteins separated in a gel.

How to identify proteins in SDS-PAGE? ›

Visualization of proteins in SDS-PAGE gels

The two most commonly used methods are Coomassie and silver staining. Silver staining is a more sensitive staining method than Coomassie staining, and is able to detect 2–5 ng protein per band on a gel.

What is the purpose of a marker protein? ›

Cell markers are a unique set of proteins located on the cell surface that enable the identification, classification, and visualization of cells with antibodies; these antibodies can be directed against a singular target or multiple targets depending on the cell type and the unique set of cell markers present.

What is a high protein marker? ›

Results equal to or greater than 8 mg/L or 10 mg/L are considered high. Range values vary depending on the lab doing the test. A high test result is a sign of inflammation. It may be due to serious infection, injury or chronic disease. Your health care provider may recommend other tests to determine the cause.

What is the standard range of protein? ›

Normal Results

The normal range is 6.0 to 8.3 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or 60 to 83 g/L. Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk to your provider about the meaning of your specific test results.

How do you identify protein biomarkers? ›

There are three main steps in proteomic analysis in order to identify a biomarker in a specific disease. These steps including; (1) extraction and separation of proteins, (2) identification of proteins, and (3) verification of proteins (Fig.

What is a marker ladder? ›

A marker or ladder is a set of DNA fragments and the base pair length of each fragment is known. It is considered a standard because it can be used as a tool from which to measure the lengths of your unknown DNA fragments.

What is a marker protein? ›

Marker proteins extend across the cell membrane and serve to identify the cell. The immune system uses these proteins to tell friendly cells from foreign invaders. They are as unique as fingerprints. They play an important role in organ transplants.

What is the purpose of a DNA marker or ladder? ›

A DNA ladder is a solution of DNA molecules of different lengths used in agarose or acrylamide gel electrophoresis. It is applied as a reference to estimate the size of unknown DNA molecules that were separated based on their mobility in an electrical field through the gel.

What is a protein marker in a cell? ›

Ribosome. A ribosome is the cellular machinery responsible for making proteins. There are many ribosomes in each cell, each made up of two subunits. These two subunits lock around the messenger RNA and then travel along the length of the messenger RNA molecule reading each three-letter codon.

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