Medicine >> PharmacologyIntegral Calculus as a Tool for Densitometrical Analysisby Heather Mahoney
Submitted : Fall 2012 Densitometrical analysis of Western Blot data is typically done using imaging software such as ImageJ and Imagequant, and is used to determine relative densities of bands which represent protein concentrations in the sample. The quality of integral calculus as a supplemental method for quantifying protein band density was evaluated by performing densitometry analysis of a western blot of extracellular signal-related kinase 1 (pERK1) concentrations from forskolin treated mouse hippocampal slices. Forskolin has a known correlation to ERK activation, and the results of such an analysis are expected to show a time-dependent increase in pERK1 levels. The densitometry was performed using integral calculus to determine the area under the curve representing the density of the band, and compared with the results of densitometry performed entirely with imaging software. Integral calculus yielded the expected time-dependent increase in pERK1, in agreement with the calculations performed by imaging software. Related Links:
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