Bovine Serum Albumin

Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) is a purified protein used extensively as a supporting reagent in molecular biology and biochemical laboratory procedures. It is derived from bovine serum and is mainly used as a non-specific blocking agent and as a stabilising component in enzyme reactions. Its properties of protein binding make it useful where it is desired to minimise unintended interactions between proteins, surfaces or reaction components. bovine serum albumin can be used as a PCR additive in molecular biology workflows. It helps reduce enzyme adhesion to tube walls that can support more consistent reaction conditions. BSA also serves as a stabilising agent for enzymes in laboratory procedures. These properties are useful where the preservation of enzyme activity and reduction of non-specific surface interactions are critical.

The protein is also used in immunologic and cell-based methods. In ELISA it can be used in blocking solutions to minimize non-specific binding to assay surfaces. This results in cleaner assay conditions for the following detection steps. Bovine Serum Albumin is also used in washing solutions for flow cytometry analysis where the controlled composition of solutions is important during sample processing. Another use is in tissue digestion solutions where it can be used as the protein component of the working solution. The quality of BSA is especially important for applications in molecular biology, as unwanted enzymatic contaminants may interfere with sensitive reactions. This grade is formulated with no detectable DNases or RNases, to help minimize unwanted nucleic-acid degradation. Proteases and phosphatases are also not detected, supporting its use in applications where protein integrity and enzymatic conditions need to be controlled.

Bovine Serum Albumin is a pale yellow crystalline powder and is soluble in water to form a clear solution. The product contains not more than 5.0% water. A 1% solution at 25°C has a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. It is specified to have a protein purity of not less than 98.0%. These defined physical and chemical parameters permit its use in molecular biology procedures requiring a defined protein reagent.