At least 8-9% of all protein-related publications are estimated to apply western blots. The western blot is extensively used in biochemistry for the qualitative detection of single proteins and protein-modifications (such as post-translational modifications). Ī researcher examines western blots to determine if proteins bind to antibodies Between 19 'it has been mentioned in the titles, abstracts, and keywords of more than 400,000 PubMed-listed publications' and may still be the most used protein-analytical technique. Neal Burnette in 1981, although the method itself originated in 1979 in the laboratory of Harry Towbin at the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Basel, Switzerland. Similarly, detection of RNA is termed as northern blot. The name western blot is a play on the Southern blot, a technique for DNA detection named after its inventor, English biologist Edwin Southern. Other related techniques include dot blot analysis, quantitative dot blot, immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry, where antibodies are used to detect proteins in tissues and cells by immunostaining, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

The secondary antibody is visualized through various methods such as staining, immunofluorescence, and radioactivity, allowing indirect detection of the specific target protein. A secondary antibody is added which recognizes and binds to the primary antibody. The electrophoresis membrane is washed in a solution containing the primary antibody, before excess antibody is washed off. A synthetic or animal-derived antibody (known as the primary antibody) is created that recognizes and binds to a specific target protein. Western blot technique uses three elements to achieve its task of separating a specific protein from a complex: separation by size, transfer of protein to a solid support, and marking target protein using a primary and secondary antibody to visualize. The western blot (sometimes called the protein immunoblot), or western blotting, is a widely used analytical technique in molecular biology and immunogenetics to detect specific proteins in a sample of tissue homogenate or extract. Western blot using an antibody that recognizes proteins modified with lipoic acid

Eastern blot