Loading Control Antibodies

Primary Antibodies

Loading Control Antibodies

700+ antibodies across five core housekeeping targets

Loading control antibodies confirm equal sample loading and sample quality, a step that shapes how you read a Western blot result. They target housekeeping proteins expressed at a steady level across almost all cell lines and tissues, including Actin, GAPDH, PCNA, Vinculin and Tubulin.

How it works

Why housekeeping proteins work as a loading reference

These targets are constitutively expressed as part of core cell functions, cytoskeletal structure, glycolysis, adhesion and DNA replication, so their abundance changes little across experimental conditions. Their band intensity therefore reflects total protein loaded and transferred rather than the effect under study: probed on the same blot as the target of interest, its signal is normalized against the loading control to correct for lane-to-lane differences in loading or transfer efficiency.

Category benefits

Why use loading control antibodies?

Confirms equal loading
Detects a target present at a similar level in every lane, so you can judge whether loading was even before interpreting your result of interest.
Checks sample quality
A weak or missing loading control signal can flag degraded or poorly prepared sample.
Wide format and host selection
700+ antibodies span five core targets, multiple clonality types and host species, so you can choose a format and molecular weight that does not overlap with your target of interest.
Where they're used

Typical applications

Western blot normalization
Run alongside a target antibody on the same blot so the loading control signal provides a reference for comparing target signal across lanes.
Sample and lysate quality checks
Screen lysates for degradation or uneven preparation before committing samples to a full experimental blot.
Multi-format detection workflows
Conjugated formats, including AbFluor, Cy3, Cy5 and Biotin, support fluorescent or chemiluminescent detection, so a loading control can be matched to the imaging system in use.

Need help choosing a loading control?

Contact our technical support team for help matching a loading control to your sample type and blotting conditions. Each product page includes a downloadable datasheet and SDS, with dispatch on overnight priority shipping with gel ice packs.

Looking for more loading control research insights?

Our loading control range spans Actin, GAPDH, PCNA, Vinculin and Tubulin targets.

View loading control insights

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

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