Albumin-free serum samples in less than 15 minutes.

The Pierce Blue Albumin Removal Kit is for high-capacity albumin removal from small (10-100 µl) serum samples. Each Cibracron* Blue Activated Disc ("SwellGel Disc") can bind approximately 2 mg of human serum albumin. Just add water and the discs hydrate in less than 20 seconds to form an equilibrated agarose resin bed of approximately 200 µl. Processed samples are ready for immediate downstream analysis by 2D electrophoresis or MS applications. The ease and versatility offered by the disc-resin format make this kit ideal for single- or multi-sample processing with the microcentrifuge spin columns supplied in the kit.

Human serum albumin (HSA) often accounts for >60% of the total protein present in serum samples and can have a concentration of ~40 mg/ml. This high concentration of albumin hinders research, obscuring the detection of many proteins of biological interest. Traditionally, researchers have produced albumin-free samples using chromatography methods involving multiple purification steps. In addition to involving lengthy and tedious procedures, these purification steps also tend to give low protein yields. The Pierce Blue Albumin Removal Kit was developed to take advantage of both Cibacron* Blue Dye methods (widely used for removing HSA) and our "SwellGel Disc" Technology.

The kit is optimized to bind human, porcine and sheep albumin from serum samples. With a slight modification to the protocol, albumin from bovine, calf, goat and rat can be removed with this method. The kit is not effective for removal of mouse albumin.

Effective albumin removal improves 2D gel analysis of serum. Serum sample obtained by diluting 10 µl human serum with 40 µl TBS and loading 5 µl onto Gel A. Albumin-free sample obtained by diluting 50 µl human serum 1:1 with Binding/Wash Buffer, adding to a single disc, washing the resin three times with 50 µl buffer, combining the fractions, and loading 5 µl onto Gel B. Both samples were focused using pH 4-7 isoelectric focusing (IEF) strips and run on 8-16% Tris-glycine gels.

Highlights:

• "SwellGel" Disc format improves performance and eases processing of multiple samples
• Complete kit includes everything needed to remove albumin; also works with 96-well filter plates
• Enables 2D gel analysis of low-abundance serum protein by removing excess albumin
• Room temperature stability made possible by dehydrated disc format allows benchtop storage

Related Resources and Products:

Pierce Blue Albumin Removal Kit FAQ
Application Note: SwellGel Blue Albumin Removal Kit with Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer
Pierce Albumin/IgG Removal Kits