Optimization of an HP Scanjet for quantification of protein electrophoresis gels.

An inexpensive desktop scanner, the Hewlett-Packard Scanjet IIp (HP), has been optimized for analysis of protein electrophoresis gels by comparison with a calibrated laser densitometer (Laser). Images from both densitometers were transferred to a personal computer and analyzed with QGEL software. Without correction the HP response was often in poor agreement with the Laser.

Computerized quantitative analysis of coomassie-blue-stained serum proteins separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis.

Two-dimensional electrophoresis in combination with Coomassie Blue staining was refined for use as a quantitative method. Microcomputer software was developed for use with the IBM AT and compatible computers for analyzing the gels. To test the refined method to determine its usefulness in simultaneous measurements of 28 human serum proteins, we measured each protein relative to a single standard (bovine serum albumin) polymerized at different concentrations in a calibration scale, rather than using 28 individual standards.

Computer analysis of double-labeled two-dimensional electrophoresis gels.

A computerized process for the automatic analysis of double-label autoradiography after two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis has been developed. Matching fluorographs and autoradiographs produced from gels containing 3H- and 14C-labeled proteins are digitized by a rotating drum densitometer and analyzed by the Man-computer Interactive Data Analysis System III. This system locates corresponding protein spots in the films with edge-detection algorithms, converts spot density readings to isotopic disintegrations by reference to standard curves, and computes a 3H:14C ratio for each spot in the gels.