How To Determine A Protein Stability Assay

Updated on October 8, 2020

Whenever you’re looking at an immunoassay, you should know that proteins end up playing a vital role. The reason for this is due to them behaving as an antigen that assay developers can then use to figure out if a disease is present in the person who was tested. To make sure that accurate results are achieved, the proteins must maintain their original form and be preserved. This is the main reason why it is imperative that protein stability is preserved. 

Why Maintaining A Stable Protein Assay Is Important

A protein must be stabilized to ensure that a long amount of time can go by and the test will still end up yielding accurate results. Assay developers also don’t want for their reagents to be blocked, which would cause the proteins to interfere with one another and it would make the proteins overly sensitive to the test at hand. 

Assay developers also need for the protein to remain stable so that an in-solution application can take place. Something known as “conjugate stabilizers” will be able to help retain the form of the enzyme that is on the protein along with the antigens or antibodies. 

To learn how the stability of proteins can be hurt, continue reading below! 

Items That Can Damage A Protein’s Stability

Overall, outside environmental factors are the main item that can hurt the foundation of a protein and damage the protein’s stability. Some of these environmental factors include:

  • Temperature
  • The presence of salts
  • PH levels
  • Metal Ions
  • Other contaminants

To ensure that the protein will maintain its stability, it is important for them to be stored either in some kind of dry form or in a solution. If they’re being stored dry, they must be dried out and frozen in the proper format. If this is done incorrectly, then the drying and freezing process ends up damaging the protein’s stability. Proper handling must be followed during the preparation, storage, and handling stages. 

By the same token, it’s important that a protein is stored in the proper kind of solution for the antibodies it holds. Each protein will have a specific solution that works best for it to be stored in. The amount of time that the protein will be stored in a specific solution will also affect which solution it should be kept in. Some solutions are cheaper, but will tear down the stability of the protein more quickly than a protein that is more expensive, but higher quality. You’ll want to double check the amount of time that the protein will have to be stored before placing it into a solution. 

The processes laid out above are important because if the drying process is done incorrectly, or if the protein is placed into the wrong solution, then the protein will become useless. The antibody agent’s will deteriorate and the protein’s stability will start to fall apart. If this happens, then no test results will be able to be derived from the protein. 

The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.