Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. announced today that it has launched Mini-PROTEAN TGX (Tris-Glycine eXtended) precast gels, providing researchers with the fastest running, long shelf life precast gels on the market for protein electrophoresis using the standard Laemmli buffer system.

"The key challenges for electrophoresis applications in research continue to be reproducibility and time to results," said Dr Alpana Prasad, Product Manager at Bio-Rad. "Mini-PROTEAN TGX gels are the only long shelf life polyacrylamide gels on the market that deliver the convenience of the precast format and use the gold standard Laemmli buffer system. The short run times and enhanced separation resolution and reproducibility of these gels will provide invaluable benefits for researchers looking to achieve better results in less time and at lower costs."

The Mini-PROTEAN TGX gels are based on a modification of the Laemmli buffer system that significantly increases gel matrix stability and performance over time. The modification extends the gel shelf life to more than 12 months and offers consistent superior resolution and reproducibility while delivering unprecedented electrophoresis run speeds. The Mini-PROTEAN TGX gels can be run to completion in as little as 12 minutes, which is significantly less time than any other PAGE system using precast or handcast gels.

Dr Stephen Mayfield, Director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology at the University of California, San Diego, has been using Mini-PROTEAN TGX gels in his lab to analyze recombinant protein expression.

"TGX gels give me the confidence of knowing that they will work every time, even after weeks of storage," said Mayfield. "In addition, we run our gels fast and we’ve been very satisfied with the performance and quality of separation."

Compared to other long shelf life products, Mini-PROTEAN TGX precast gels have the advantage of using the standard and inexpensive Tris/Glycine/SDS buffers that researchers have preferred over other buffer systems for more than 30 years.

Other distinctive features of the TGX precast gels include:

•Improved easy-to-use ergonomic cassette design — The Mini-PROTEAN TGX gel cassette facilitates sample loading and identification and is compatible with Mini-PROTEAN Tetra (1–4 gels) and Dodeca™ cells (1–12 gels), and Mini-PROTEAN 3 electrophoresis cells
•Greater molecular weight accuracy — The greater linearity of separation in Mini-PROTEAN TGX gels delivers more accurate molecular weight estimation when compared with other precast gels
•Greater transfer efficiency — The proteins from the gel can be transferred onto a PVDF or nitrocellulose membrane in as little as 15 minutes
•Downstream applications — The gels deliver superior staining with low background
The Mini-PROTEAN TGX precast gels are currently available in 7.5%, 10%, 12%, 4–15%, 4–20%, and a unique formulation, Any kD™. Any kD gels offer optimal resolution of proteins in the 20–100 kD molecular weight range and are ideal for the second dimension of 2-D electrophoresis for rapid proteomic analysis.

The launch of TGX precast gels represents the beginning of Bio-Rad’s Electroforward campaign to deliver innovative solutions to the market that will redefine the future of electrophoresis research and fundamentally change how researchers will get work done. For product details or to order Mini-PROTEAN TGX precast gels, visit www.miniprotean.com.

About Bio-Rad
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: BIO and BIOb) has remained at the center of scientific discovery for more than 50 years manufacturing and distributing a broad range of products for the life science research and clinical diagnostic markets. The company is renowned worldwide among hospitals, universities, major research institutions, as well as biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies for its commitment to quality and customer service. Founded in 1952, Bio-Rad is headquartered in Hercules, California, and serves more than 85,000 research and industry customers worldwide through its global network of operations. The company employs approximately 6,700 people globally and had revenues of nearly $1.8 billion in 2009. For more information, visit www.bio-rad.com.

NOTE TO THE EDITOR:
Information in this release applies specifically to products available in the United States. Product availability and specifications may vary in non—U.S. markets.

Source: Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.