Large Scale Synchronized C. elegans Beads
(use with 500,000 synchronized worms minimum)
Large or small-scale biochemistry work (e.g. Co-IP, ChIP, MS) and physiological experiments (e.g. metabolite analysis, HPLC) require large quantities (often in millions) of worms.
Large scale production of synchronized worms requires specialized equipment and many hours of hands-on preparations. The process is labor intensive and often tedious.
Our Large-scale Sychronized C. elegans Beads can be used for large or small-scale biochemistry work, or any experiment where a large amount of freshly prepared worm lysate is required.
The product is in the form of 5mm flash-frozen beads, which enables rapid resuspension to preserve the integrity of the sample. Each unit will allow you to work with minimally 500k synchronized worms.
Our Offerings
- Large scale production of synchronized Day 01 adult worm beads, harvested as batches of 500K worms per unit.
- Worms are washed clean of bacteria, and flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen as small worm “beads” in M9 buffer.
- Customizations/Add-ons include freezing directly in a lysis buffer or growing worms in liquid culture.
Ordering Information
| Cat. No. | Description | Price |
|---|---|---|
| WBP_STD | Standard worm beads1 | $2,000 |
| WBP_CSA | Client-supplied worm strain2 | $95 |
| WBP_LBA | Freezing worms in lysis buffer3 | $105 |
| WBP_LCA | Growing worms in liquid culture | $250 |
1 - One (1) unit of Day 01 adult worms, equivalent to min. 500,000 worms.
2 - Slow-growing and/or small brood-size strains may incur additional cost; please contact us to discuss the specifics of your chosen strain.
3 - Formulated by InVivo Biosystems.
Shipping & Storage
- The beads are packed and shipped in a 50mL conical tube.
- Frozen material is stored at -80*C and delivered overnight on dry ice.
- Received material must be stored at -80°C until ready for use.
Est. Delivery: 4 weeks (after worms are received).
Instructions for Using Large Scale Synchronized Worm Beads
Materials and equipment:
- Lysis buffer pre-chilled to 4°C.
- Protease inhibitors
- Ice and ice bucket.
- Tissue homogenizing instrument, e.g. probe sonicator, Dounce homogenizer, bead mill, etc.
- Refrigerated centrifuge.
Procedure:
- Pre-chill all buffers and containers.
- Remove Large Scale Synchronized Worm Beads from -80°C. Keep on ice.
- Immediately immerse beads in 1 or more volumes of lysis buffer with protease inhibitors.
- Thaw quickly and resuspend thoroughly.
- Lyse worms using probe sonication or your choice of tissue disruption method.*
- Transfer to ultracentrifuge tube and centrifuge at >25,000g for 10min. (Alternatively, centrifuge at 15,000g in benchtop centrifuge.)
- Transfer supernatant to a clean, pre-chilled container for downstream use.
*Evaluate lysis efficiency by collecting small samples of crude lysate, pellet, and supernatant and analyzing by SDS-PAGE.
Materials and equipment:
- Laemmli sample loading buffer (2X or 4X)
- Ice and ice bucket.
- Benchtop centrifuge.
- Heat block or heat plate
- Equipment for SDS-PAGE
- Equipment for Western blotting (if desired)
Procedure:
- Remove Large Scale Synchronized Worm Beads from -80°C. Keep on ice.
- Remove a single Worm Bead and return the rest to -80°C.
- Add Laemmli Sample buffer to 1X at 500µl (dilute or concentrate as needed).
- Boil sample for 5min (or heat at 37°C for 10min for sensitive applications).
- Spin at maximum speed (~15,000 x g) in benchtop centrifuge.
- Load 1-50µl of supernatant on separating gel.
