Detergent Screening Kit

General Information
The AthenaES Detergent Screening Kit is intended for use in protein refolding applications. Numerous observations have demonstrated that some proteins will fold into their correct structure in the presence of detergent.  However, no single detergent has proved to be suitable for all proteins. This requires that the best detergent for any given protein be determined empirically. Athena's Detergent Screening Kit is composed of six pure detergents which have been shown to effect protein refolding. The kit permits the identification of the best available detergent for a given target protein in a rapid screening format.

Detergent Screening Kit Components
10mL 100mM Triton X-100
10mL 100mM Tween 80
10mL 100mM CTAB
10mL 100mM Zwittergent 3-14
10mL 100mM TTAB
10mL 100mM POE (10)L
Applications Manual


Instructions
*The following algorithm is recommended when screening detergents for their utility in refolding a specific protein

1.	Perform a screen to determine the best buffer conditions for protein refolding. A complete optimization is not necessary, but a buffer composition which gives some level of refolding is important. The critical parameters that should be examined include: pH, ionic strength, excipitents (i.e., detergents, polyols, chaotropic agents), redox state, temperature, and protein cocentration. Refolding can be done by dilution, dialysis, or immobilization on a resin. Several commercial kits are avialable, such as Athena's Protein Refolding Kit (cat. #0600), which simplify the screening process by providing pre-mixed buffers along with straightforward statistical analyses of the results. A detailed method can be found in the Athena's Protein Refolding Applications Manual.
2.	Perform the refolding using the base buffer conditions identified in step 1, by preparing six buffers each containing a different detergent of the Detergent Screening Kit. A starting concentration of 5 mM is recommended. The Detergent Screening Kit can be used in conjunction with the Cyclodextrin Screening Kit (cat. #0602).
3.	Once the best detergent has been identified (I.e., the detergent which yields the highest recovery of refolded protein) the optimum concentration is determined using a range finding experiment.