Q: Some suppliers sell their streptavidin conjugates in amounts given as streptavidin equivalents. Is that also the case for your product, Streptavidin-ZAP? What is important to me is to know what the molar concentration of streptavidin conjugate is, and the volume of your preparation.
A: The molar concentration of Streptavidin-ZAP (Cat. #IT-27) will depend on the lot; the accompanying data sheet will contain the molecular weight. We recommend that you mix Streptavidin-ZAP and your biotinylated material at equimolar concentrations. For our in-house in vitro quality control assays, we make a stock vial containing both 1 mM of biotinylated material and 1 mM of Streptavidin-ZAP diluted in media in 150 ml total volume. From this stock vial, we add 10 ml to each well of a plate containing cells in 90 µl volumes, which then dilutes the stock material to its correct concentration of 100 nM.
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Q: So, each mole of streptavidin will bind 4 moles of biotin?
A: Streptavidin-ZAP was created for use as an initial diagnostic step with biotinylated targeting agents, before moving on to a direct linkage between the optimal targeting agent and Saporin. The biotin-streptavidin interaction should be considered a linker; the major players are the targeting agent and Saporin. The targeting agent to Saporin ratio is kept at 1:2 M. When pre-mixing the biotinylated moiety with Streptavidin-ZAP in an equimolar ratio the ability of Streptavidin-ZAP to bind up to 4 biotins ensures that most of the biotinylated moiety will have Streptavidin-ZAP attached (no free biotinylated moiety). Streptavidin equivalents would not be appropriate as the Saporin moiety in Streptavidin-ZAP is the primary focus of the technology.