After coating the EIA/RIA plate with the capture antigen or antibody, proper blocking of the unoccupied areas of the plate wells is paramount to attaining an accurate signal.
The Block Buffer Optimization Pack provides three of ICT's Block Buffer formulations for an economical and fast method of selecting the best blocking buffer for a particular assay. The Pack includes an adequate amount of three of our ELISA Block Buffers to begin optimizing the blocking stage of the assay development process.
Take advantage of this opportunity to purchase a trial quantity of these three Block Buffers and save 15% off the price of purchasing the trial sizes individually. The Optimization Pack (catalog #957) includes one 100mL bottle of each block buffer formulation:
- BB1 General Blocker (cat #632)
- BB2 Neptune Block (cat# 62)
- BB3 SynBlock (cat# 641)
Each Blocking Buffer formulation is supplied at 1X and contains an antimicrobial agent for room temperature blocking. They are stable for 18 months when stored at 2°-8°C or 1 month when stored at room temperature.
| Product Datasheet: | BBOP Blocking Buffer Optimization Pack Product Datasheets.pdf |
| Best For: | An economical and fast method of selecting the best blocking buffer for a particular assay. |
| To Use: |
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| pH: | 7.4 at 1x |
| Contains: | BB1: Mammalian proteins
BB2: Non-mammalian proteins BB3: All synthetic materials |
| Supplied At: | 1x |
| Storage: | 2°-8° C, Ships Overnight (Domestic), International Priority Shipping |
| MSDS: |
What does a block buffer do to the coated plate?
All of ICT's unique blocking buffers contain proprietary additives that stabilize the antigenic and functional regions of the coated protein by maintaining a level of hydration during the drying and storage process. These buffers also contain inert additives that block any "sticky" nonspecific binding regions of the adsorbed protein and any uncoated regions of the polystyrene plate surface. This reduces nonspecific binding of the conjugate and random deposits of sample proteins, reducing background noise and increasing the specific signal. ICT's proprietary block buffers also include an antimicrobial agent to prevent bacterial growth during the blocking process, which allows blocking to be done at room temperature, and to extend the shelf-life of the plates. Plates can be blocked and dried at room temperature and stored for 1 year or longer at 2°-8°C, depending on the coated protein.
What are the differences between ICT's four Block Buffers?
BB1 General Low-Level Blocker is used as a general purpose blocker for sandwich and antigen-down ELISA formats that require low level to average level blocking.
BB2 Neptune Block is used as a high background blocker for primarily antigen-down assays as well as sandwich ELISA formats that require high level blocking.
BB3 SynBlock is used as a high level blocker for sandwich ELISA formats that require high to very high level blocking or that require a blocker that contains no proteins.
BB4 Phosph-Free Blocker is used to block coated ELISA plates that use alkaline phosphatase in the assay.
ICT offers a trial pack containing 100 mL each of three different blocking buffers (BB1, BB2, and BB3) for an economical and fast method of selecting the best blocking buffer for a particular assay (BBOP, catalog #957).
What type of ELISA plates should be used with ICT's Block Buffers?
BB1 and BB2 work on all types of polystyrene ELISA plates. For antigen-down ELISAs with BB1 or BB2, ICT recommends Immulon® II High Binding plates, available from ICT (catalog #227); for antibody sandwich ELISAs, ICT recommends Corning Costar® 96-Well EIA/RIA Stripwell™ Plates (ICT catalog #25).
BB3 and BB4 work with all types of polystyrene plates except Immulon 2 plates. When blocking with BB3 or BB4, ICT recommends Corning Costar® 96-Well EIA/RIA Stripwell™ Plates (ICT catalog #25).
How are plates dried?
Plates coated and blocked with ICT's reagents should always be dried at room temperature. Blocked plates should first be aspirated to remove Block Buffer. To dry, place them in a fume hood, loosely covered with foil. Turn the fume hood on and dry overnight. An alternate method is to dry the plates in a vacuum chamber without heat for 4 hours. Plates should never be stacked on one another while drying. It is recommended that lyophilization should not be used as a drying method.
How should dried plates be stored?
Dried plates should be placed in a foil pouch (ICT catalog # 6288) with a 5 gram desiccant packet (ICT catalog # 6289) and sealed. The plates can then be stored at 2°-8°C for up to one year.
