Difference Gel Electrophoresis (DIGE) Using CyDye DIGE Fluor Minimal Dyes

One- and two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (1- and 2-D SDS-PAGE) have been widely used for the separation and quantitative estimation of proteins. Following electrophoresis, the gels are stained appropriately to visualize the proteins. Difference gel electrophoresis (DIGE) is a new technique in which different protein samples, individually labeled with specific CyDyes, are combined together followed by electrophoresis and post electrophoretic co-detection and co-analysis on the same gel. CyDye DIGE fluor minimal dyes, which consist of three different CyDyes with different spectral characteristics, have been widely used for such purposes. The technique is highly sensitive with a wide dynamic range for detection of proteins and compatible with state-of-the-art protein identification techniques using mass spectrometry. Although DIGE is mainly used to compare differential expression of various protein samples using 2-D SDS-PAGE, 1-D DIGE also has important applications in quantitative proteomic studies.