SDS-PAGE (Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate–Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis)
SDS-PAGE is the gold standard for protein separation by molecular weight. It’s used throughout drug discovery to verify protein expression, assess purity during purification, and monitor degradation or aggregation in stability studies. It’s foundational for any protein-based assay or therapeutic development.
2D Gel Electrophoresis
This technique combines isoelectric focusing (pI separation) and SDS-PAGE (size separation) to resolve complex protein mixtures. It’s widely used in proteomics to compare protein expression across disease states, drug treatments, or cell types — making it a powerful tool for biomarker discovery and mechanism-of-action studies.
Western Blotting
Western blotting detects specific proteins using antibody-based recognition after SDS-PAGE separation. It’s essential for target validation, confirming post-translational modifications, and verifying drug-induced changes in protein expression. It’s also used to confirm hits from high-throughput screens.
Agarose Gel Electrophoresis
Agarose gels separate DNA and RNA by size and are used in workflows involving gene editing, PCR validation, plasmid construction, and RNA integrity checks. These are foundational steps in target discovery, CRISPR screening, and transcriptomics.
Capillary Electrophoresis–Mass Spectrometry (CE–MS)
CE–MS combines high-resolution electrophoretic separation with mass spectrometric detection. It’s used for peptide mapping, metabolite profiling, charge variant analysis, and biologics characterization. Its ultra-low sample requirements and precision make it ideal for both early discovery and analytical development.
Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)
TGA measures changes in a compound’s mass as a function of temperature. It’s widely used in drug discovery and development to assess thermal stability, moisture content, decomposition temperatures, and formulation compatibility. TGA is especially valuable for characterizing solid-state forms of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients.
Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA)
DTA tracks the temperature difference between a sample and an inert reference as both are heated. It detects endothermic and exothermic events such as melting, crystallization, and degradation. In drug discovery, DTA helps identify phase transitions, polymorphic forms, and thermal behavior of drug candidates and formulations.
Differential Scanning Fluorimetry (DSF / Thermal Shift Assay)
DSF monitors protein unfolding by detecting changes in fluorescence as temperature increases. It’s a key tool for assessing protein stability, ligand binding, and formulation screening. In drug discovery, DSF is widely used in fragment-based screening, target engagement studies, and biologics development to identify stabilizing compounds or optimal buffer conditions.