What is DiGE?
Difference Gel Electrophoresis (DiGE) is a modification of 2-D PAGE. Two or three separate protein samples are labeled with different fluorescent dyes prior to separation, enabling accurate analysis of differences in protein abundance between samples.
We use CyDye TM DIGE Fluor dyes (Cy2, Cy3, and Cy5). These dyes show the following characteristics:
| Size- and charge matched | The same labeled protein from different samples will migrate to the same position, regardless of the dye used |
| pH insensitive | No change in signal over the wide pH range used during first-dimension separation (IEF) and equivalent migration in SDS gels |
| Spectrally resolvable | The distinct signal from each fluor contributes to the accuracy |
| Highly sensitive and bright | As little as 125 pg of protein can be detected |
| Photostable | There is minimal loss of signal during labeling, separation, and scanning |