Utility of a direct dual-mode development analysis on blotted protein mixtures.

Classic blotting methods remain a commonly applied approach to specific protein identification in gel electrophoresis of complex mixtures despite the inherent difficulty in band or spot matching due to significant variability of protein migration or localization in replicate blotting experiments. A direct application of both protein stain and protein blotting on a single membrane significantly reduces the complexity of the experiment and provides increased confidence of signal matching. Digital alignment of images acquired from both total protein stain and blotting development modes on a single membrane allows unambiguous spot or band assignments in these experiments as well as retention of quantitative information acquired from both modes of signal generation.