Immobilon^® PVDF membranes for Western blotting

How do Western blot membranes work?

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes bind biomolecules through hydrophobic interactions. Membrane pores increase the surface binding area while restricting sizes of bound proteins.

We offer four types of Immobilon^® PVDF (Polyvinylidene Difluoride) membranes, each optimized for a specific protein blotting application. Blotting sandwiches that feature pre-cut sheets of membrane and blotting filter paper are also available.

• Immobilon^®-E membrane is the only PVDF membrane (0.45 µM) that wets out in aqueous buffers, eliminating the methanol pre-wet step. This membrane is well-suited for most Western blotting applications.
• Immobilon^®-P membrane is optimized for Western blotting and offer better handling and staining than nitrocellulose. All Immobilon^®-P PVDF membranes have a pore size of 0.45 μm.
• Immobilon^®-PSQ membrane (0.2 µM) is ideal for protein sequencing and immunoblotting of low molecular weight proteins. It has a higher protein binding capacity and a higher retention than 0.45 µM membranes.
• Immobilon^®-FL membrane (0.45 µM) was developed for fluorescence-based immunodetection. It has low background fluorescence across a wide range of excitation and emission wavelengths.
• Immobilon^® NOW membrane has convenient pre‑cut sheets with the flexibility of rolls in each format: Immobilon^®-E, Immobilon^®-P, Immobilon^®-FL and Immobilon^®-PSQ membranes.

PVDF Western blot membrane advantages compared to nitrocellulose

• Won’t crack or curl, and they can be cut without fracturing.
• Low background
• Broad solvent compatibility
• Superior staining capabilities
• Can be reprobed multiple times
• Compatible with a variety of detection chemistries, including radioactive, chromogenic, chemiluminescent, fluorescent, and chemifluorescent techniques

Immobilon^® PVDF membranes offer excellent protein binding and high signal.

Immobilon^® PVDF membranes have high protein adsorption, so you won’t lose proteins during transfer or reprobing. The open pore structure makes it easy to access bound proteins and remove unbound probes. In addition, Immobilon^® PVDF membranes optimized for fluorescent blots dramatically increase signal for high sensitivity in quantitative, multiplexing applications.

PVDF Membranes
Membrane Name		Immobilon®-E membrane	Immobilon®-P membrane	Immobilon®-FL membrane	Immobilon®-PSQ membrane
Pore Size		0.45 µM	0.45 µM	0.45 µM	0.2 µM
Detection methods		Chemiluminescence, Colorimetric	Chemiluminescence, Colorimetric	Chemililuminescence, Colorimetric, Fluorescence (including near-infrared)	Chemiluminescence, Colorimetric
Binding capacity	Goat IgG	225-293 µg/cm2	294 µg/cm2	300 µg/cm2	448 µg/cm2
	BSA	n/a	215 µg/cm2	205 µg/cm2	340 µg/cm2
	Insulin	n/a	160 µg/cm2	155 µg/cm2	262 µg/cm2
Applications		Western blots	Western blots, dot blots	Western blots, dot blots	Western blots, dot blots
		The durability and high protein retention of Immobilon® PVDF membranes make them the preferred option for sequential detection of multiple targets via antibody stripping and reprobing.
Selection Criteria		Target protein expressed over a broad dynamic range Wide range of molecular weights			Target protein <20 kDa Low-abundance target protein Low-affinity antibody