Direct immunodetection of antigens within the precast polyacrylamide gel

Detection of specific proteins separated by SDS-PAGE is the basis for studying specific antigens. Immunodetection of antigens is commonly performed using Western blotting technique. In this paper we have shown that it is possible to eliminate Western blotting and to detect the antigens directly within the precast polyacrylamide gels by pretreating the gels with 50% isopropanol followed by distilled water treatment. This method would be valuable for large or difficult to transfer proteins.