PVDF membrane long-term storage after transfer - (Jul/24/2013 )

Depending on who I ask, I am told completely different things as far as how to best preserve your PVDF membranes for long-term storage after SDS-PAGE and blocking.

Strategy 1:
Store the membrane in TBST in a sealed pocket at -20°C.

Strategy 2:
Store the membrane in TBST in a sealed pocket at 4°C.

Strategy 3:
Store the membrane in blocking buffer in a sealed pocket at 4°C.

I'm leaning towards strategy 2 in order to avoid any possible physical disruption caused by ice crystals and to also avoid using milk, which may go bad in long-term storage.

What are your thoughts?

If any of you have visualized blots after trying these different methods in order to empirically validate your storage technique, I'd love to hear from you and see your results!

Thanks!

The final option is to store dry, protected from light. I would recommend this option for PVDF as it somehow helps bind the proteins to the membrane. Long term storage in buffer requires addition of a bacterio/fungistatic such as Na azide. I would avoid storing at -20 in buffer.

Thanks for the tip! When storing dry, would you recommend storing cool (4°C) or room-temp?

Either should be fine.