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Western Blot v ELISA for Different Samples? - (Nov/24/2012 )

Hey guys,

I having a little difficulty getting my head around these two methods. I'm trying to decide which would be the better of the two methods to determine the quantity of protein in each of the following:

1.Blood Plasma
2.Tissue Homogenate
3.Cell Lysate
4.Purified Protein Extract

so far I've decided on

1.ELISA
2.Western
3.Western
4.Western

but I'm not 100% confident as to why I've chosen these methods. Does anyone else? So far I understand that Westerns are used to confirm the result of an ELISA, but what is the real reason for this?

Thanks in advance

-maiden-england93-

This looks a lot like a homework question, so I won't give a full answer, just some points for you to think on...

Are you looking to determine the total protein concentration in the sample or are you looking for a specific protein?

What do westerns and ELISAs detect (or how do they work)?

How do your sample types differ from each other?

-bob1-