Proteins

For product Datasheets and MSDSs please click on the PDF links below.   For additional information, click on the FAQs tab above or contact our Technical Support department at tservice@cytoskeleton.com.

Cytoskeleton's actin products have been cited hundreds of times over the past 18 years. A select few are described here, for more citations on individual products please use the "Citations" tab on each individual product page.



Question 1:  Why might I need >99% pure actin instead of >95% pure actin? 

Answer 1:  For optimal purity in identifying and characterizing actin binding proteins or the effects of test proteins, compounds or drugs on actin polymerization kinetics, the clearest and most definitive results are achieved with 99% pure actin.  Highly purified actin (>99%) eliminates the non-specific influence of contaminants and actin binding proteins to accurately evaluate how a test protein, compound or drug is interacting with actin and affecting its function (polymerization). Examples of >99% pure actin are AD99 (cardiac muscle), AKL99 (skeletal muscle), APHL99 (cytoplasmic or non-muscle) and AS99 (smooth muscle).

Question 2:  Can I label the purified actins with a fluorescent dye of my choice? 

Answer 2:  Cytoskeleton offers purified actins labeled with rhodamine (Cat. # APHR or AR05), pyrene (Cat. # AP05) or biotin (Cat. # AB07).  However, if a different label is desired, yes, our purified actins can be used with labeling kits to conjugate a fluorophore to purified actins. The only precaution you need is to match labeling chemistry with the labeling buffer, for example a non-amine buffer such as PBS or PIPES is necessary for succinimide ester dyes, whereas malemide dyes can be used with Tris buffers which is an amine buffer. Cytoskeleton's actins are all presented in 5 mM Tris buffer, 0.2 mM CaCl2 and 0.2 mM ATP.   

For more information, please contact tservice@cytoskeleton.com with questions regarding these products.