Articles by Bailey Kirkpatrick

Every epigenetics scientist knows that chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a valuable technique for studying protein-DNA interactions.  They also know that antibodies used in ChIP to capture the DNA/protein complex must be reliable and specifically recognize the fixed protein that is bound to the chromatin complex. But how can a researcher be certain that the antibodies they are using work well in ChIP?  For many researchers it is not always the case to be “blessed” with a quality ChIP-grade antibody and, unfortunately, [more…]

Researchers rely on high quality antibodies to perform successful chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiments. When investigating the protein-DNA interaction of interest, valid and reliable results simply cannot be attained using nonspecific and inefficient antibodies. If the antibody doesn’t come “ChIP-qualified” or “ChIP-grade” from the supplier, there are several tips you can follow to determine if it’s likely to perform well in ChIP and won’t pull down distracting material to get in the way of a successful study. Carry out the standard [more…]