Product Uses Include
Screening compounds for effects on tubulin polymerization activity.
Screening proteins for effects on tubulin polymerization activity.
Determining that tubulin alone (not MAPs) is the target for compounds that affect microtubule polymerization.
Teaching aid for undergraduate/graduate class in pharmacology.
Introduction
This assay is based on an adaptation of the original method of Shelanski et al. and Lee et al. (1,2), which demonstrated that light is scattered by microtubules to an extent that is proportional to the concentration of microtubule polymer. The resulting polymerization curve is representative of the three phases of microtubule polymerization, namely nucleation, growth and steady state equilibrium. See the About Tubulin page for more information. The assay is optimized for a 96-well format for low CVs and efficient sample handling.
This kit contains the porcine neuronal tubulin of the highest available purity (>99% pure, Cat. # T240). The same type of assay is also available with HTS tubulin (Cat. # BK004P) and can serve as an economical, but slightly less sensitive alternative to BK006P. HTS tubulin (Cat. # HTS03) is >97% pure. Cytoskeleton, Inc. also provides a fluorescence based tubulin polymerization assay in miniaturized format (Cat. # BK011P) making it ideal for high throughput screening.
If you are interested in using either of these tubulin polymerization assays in a high throughput setting, please contact our technical service department for advice and bulk quotes.