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What is Simple Western?

Simple Western™ Technology provides automated capillary western analysis using capillary electrophoresis for protein separation followed by immunoassay-based detection within a fully enclosed system. Simple Western Technology simplifies and automates the traditional western blotting process by integrating it into a fully automated capillary system, providing more precise quantitative data than traditional western blotting due to its controlled and standardized operating conditions. 

  • Simple Western is a fully automated western technology. Traditional western blotting steps of sample separation, wash buffer incubations, and immunodetection of target proteins occur inside a hands-free instrument on your benchtop. 
  • Unlike traditional western blotting systems, Simple Western does not transfer proteins to a membrane, removing the inherent variability of western blotting and adding high-throughput sample processing and automated protein analysis. 
  • Tiny amounts of sample are separated inside capillaries and are cross linked to the capillary walls. Then, blocking and wash buffer incubations are performed using just a few microliters of your primary antibodies and conjugated secondary antibodies to detect target proteins in chemiluminescence and NIR/IR fluorescence channels (LOD <1 pg). 

How Can Simple Western Help You?

Fully Automated.  Just load your samples and press start. Pair Simple Western with your automated liquid handler to prepare and load samples, reagents, antibodies, and wash buffer, and set up multiple plates for automated protein analysis.  

Low Sample Volume.  Use as little as 3 µL of starting material and generate up to 8 data points with just 5 µL. 

High Sensitivity Multiplex.  Get industry-leading sensitivity in chemiluminescence and fluorescence channels and the advantage of flexible  multiplex assays

Fast Time to Results.  With aprocessing time of 3 hours, Simple Western dramatically speeds up time to results compared to other western blot processors. 

Reproducible and Quantitative.  By eliminating the variability from the gel-to-membrane transfer of western blotting protocols, Simple Western is highly reproducible and fully quantitative. Plus, you get total protein detection and built-in  total protein normalization

Save valuable samples.  RePlex™assays on Jess™, Abby™  and Leo™  Systems allows you to get multiple data points per sample.  

Choose from >5,000 validated antibodies. Explore the Simple Western-validated antibodies to find the antibodies for a specific research application.

 

Simple Western vs Western Blot Infographic

Move Beyond Traditional Western Blots

Simple Western Technology is an automated capillary western combining protein separation by size or charge with sensitive chemiluminescence and fluorescence immunodetection using conventional primary and conjugated secondary antibodies.  

How it works

  1. Prepare your reagents and samples: Reagent prep with Simple Western isn’t complicated and prepare your samples as you would for a traditional western blot.  
  2. Load the plate: After preparing the reagents, simply load the reagents and samples into a Simple Western plate. 
  3.  Start the run: Place the plate and a capillary cartridge into the Simple Western System and use Compass software to start a run. 
  4.  Analyze your results: Simple Western does protein analysis through separation and immunoprobing in a capillary system. Each step of the process is precisely controlled, ensuring the highest quality results. Come back to fully analyzed, quantitative results.

 

Simple Western Size Immunoassay Infographic

Hear From Your Peers Using Simple Western Technology

Chris LaBreck, Ph.D., Senior Product Scientist, Cell Signaling Technology

"Using Simple Western has been extremely rewarding, especially due to how easy it was to transfer our western blotting assays to a fully automated format on Simple Western and how well our antibodies perform on the platform."

Chris LaBreck, PhD, Senior Product Scientist, Cell Signaling Technology

Nicolas G. Bazan Headshot

"It saves so much time! It takes away so much of the pipetting and manipulation error. You just load your samples and wait for results, and in the meantime, you can dedicate yourself to other activities." 

Nicolas G. Bazan, MD, PhD, Director of Neuroscience Center of Excellence, LSU Health New Orleans

video content

Researchers reveal why they use Simple Western and how it is accelerating their research.

Find Simple Western Optimized Protocols & Methods 

Simple Western Platforms have been utilized in various research areas from cancer biology, neuroscience to drug discovery and development. Discover how this technology is advancing many scientific disciplines below with optimized methods.

Cell & Gene Therapy

  • Potency assays 
  • Empty/full & VP ratios
  • Identity & impurities 

Targeted Protein Degradation

  • Validating targets 
  • High-throughput screening
  • DC50/Dmax

Cancer Biology

  • Immune checkpoints & hypoxia 
  • Tumor microenvironment 
  • Low-abundance proteins

Neuroscience

  • iPSC-derived neurons
  • Escape matrix effects
  • Protein biomarkers & signaling events

Cell Signaling Pathways

  • Phospho/total isoforms 
  • High-sensitivity multiplex assays
  • Analyze entire signaling pathways

Pharmacokinetic Analysis

  • Quantify intact IgG, aggregates, & fragments 
  • IC/EC50 
  • LOD/LOQ

Vaccine Development

  • Serum antibody measurements 
  • Contaminant detection 
  • Vaccine efficacy

Extracellular Vesicles

  • EV protein expression
  • EV protein markers
  • Conserve EV sample

Bioprocess Impurity Detection

  • Host cell proteins (HCP) 
  • Process-related impurities

SARS-CoV-2 Research

  • Multi-antigen serological assay 
  • ACE2/TMPRSS2