Expression and purification are critical steps in protein discovery and characterization workflows. Equally important in the workflow is the optimization of storage conditions that will ensure protein stability. Unfortunately, researchers spend little effort evaluating the effects of storage on the quality of samples prepared in-house or of those obtained through commercial vendors, which can be attributed in part to the lack of quick and simple quality check methods.
Tycho NT.6 records precise thermal unfolding profiles of proteins in as little as three minutes, so researchers can quickly detect the presence of unfolded protein in their samples before it is used in an assay and negatively impacts the outcome. In this technical note, we show how such a storage-dependent increase in the amount of unfolded protein directly affects the quality of biophysical assays, highlighting the importance of rigorous quality checks.
