In Technical Services, we frequently answer questions about whether a kit will work with a particular type of sample. An easy way to find out if other researchers have already tested your sample type of interest is to search a citation database such as Pub Med for the name of the kit and your specific sample type. We also have a searchable peer-reviewed citations database on our web site for papers that specifically cite use of our products. And on many of our product pages, you can find a list of papers that cite use of those products. In Technical Services, we are happy to help you in this search and let you know if scientists here at Promega have tested a particular application or sample type. This information provides a good starting point to optimize your own experiments.

One common question is “can the Caspase-Glo® Assays be used with tissue homogenates?” While Promega has not tested the Caspase-Glo® Assays with tissue homogenates, scientists outside of Promega have used the assays with tissue homogenates with success. As with almost all of our kits, Resources are provided on the catalog page including a list of Citations. As an example, here is a link to the Citations for the Caspase-Glo® 3/7 Assay Systems. We also have an article highlighting a citation on detecting caspase activities in mouse liver. A variety of lysis buffers have been used to make tissue homogenates for this application. To avoid nonspecific protein degradation, it is useful to include a protease inhibitor cocktail in the lysis buffer. The use of protease inhibitors doesn’t usually affect our assay chemistries. Additionally, many commercially available protease inhibitor sets can be used that do not contain caspase inhibitors. It is important to consider the specificity of the kit being used and include proper controls to ensure that the luciferase reaction is performing as expected. For more information on citations and example protocols, feel free to contact us here at Technical Services and we can help get you started with your sample type.

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Joliene Lindholm

Technical Services Scientist II Joliene earned her Ph.D. in Entomology studying the molecular mode of action of an insect hormone from the University of Wisconsin-Madison before joining Promega as a Technical Services Scientist. She says “The best thing about my job is learning about all the interesting projects that scientists are investigating; there is always something new and exciting and I get to help them succeed in their goals.” She enjoys dancing and playing ultimate when she is not busy taking care of her menagerie of pets including cockroaches, ducks and rats.

Latest posts by Joliene Lindholm (see all)

• A Day in the Life of a Technical Services Scientist - May 24, 2021
• Oh, The Ways You Can “Glo” - February 22, 2021
• Designing a Reporter Construct for Analyzing Gene Regulation - December 10, 2019