MegAvidin High Sensitivity, High Binding Capacity Plates

The Benefits of MegAvidin over Streptavidin

Background on streptavidin and biotin

Streptavidin is a 52,000 dalton molecular weight protein derived from the bacterium Streptomyces avidinii. Each streptavidin is capable of binding four biotin molecules with the greatest known affinity between a binding protein and its ligand (Ka = 1015 M-1).

Biotin is a 244 dalton molecular weight vitamin (Vitamin H). Its small size and the wide availability of effective biotinylation reagents enables labeling of antibodies, oligonucleotides and other biomolecules without significant inactivation of the labeled biomolecule.

Applications of streptavidin

This combination of extreme affinity and ease with which active, biotinylated reagents may be prepared makes biotin-streptavidin formats highly useful in constructing high sensitivity assays.

Biotin-streptavidin formats find utility in Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assays (ELISA), immunohistochemistry (IHC), Lateral Flow Assays (LFA), Microarrays, Flow Cytometry, and DNA/RNA amplicon detection assays. These assay formats use wide ranging detection labels including enzymes, isotopes, fluorophores, nanoparticles, and quantum dots. The general applicability of the method is one of its great strengths.

Description of MegAvidin

MegAvidin is a polymerized preparation of streptavidin. As such, it retains the high affinity and specificity of streptavidin, but its increased size enhances its adhesion to surfaces. In our experience, many surface based assays exhibit greater sensitivity and binding capacity using MegAvidin compared to streptavidin.

MegAvidin High Binding Capacity, High Sensitivity Plates vs. Leading Competitor’s Streptavidin, High Binding Capacity Plates

An example of MegAvidin’s increased binding ability and sensitivity is realized in its use as a capture reagent in a 96-well, ELISA plate format.

The example in Figure 1 is a comparison of the MegAvidin High Binding Capacity, High Sensitivity Plate and a Leading Competitor’s Streptavidin, High Binding Capacity Plate. The MegAvidin plate achieves a greater maximal signal and is between 4 and 8 times more sensitive than the competitor’s High Binding Capacity plate.

Figure 1: Comparison of MegAvidin High Binding Capacity, High Sensitivity Plates vs. Leading Competitor's Streptavidin, High Binding Capacity Plates. Plates were incubated with biotinylated enzyme at various dilutions, washed, then incubated with chromogenic substrate.

Available MegAvidin Products

MegAvidin is available from BioAssay Partners, LLC in 3, 10, and 50 mg quantities. In addition, MegAvidin LFA strips and ELISA plates with associated detection reagents are also available. All materials are sourced and produced in the USA so that we may offer expedited shipping and excellent customer support.

Contact Us

Please visit our website at bioassaypartners.com for additional product offerings or to speak with an applications scientist about using MegAvidin in your particular assay.