Sponge pads in semi-dry westernblotting? - to save Whatman paper... (Nov/28/2007 )

Hi,
I know people are using sponge pads (eg. scotch-brie) for tank blotting and my question is - is there anyone who's using sponge pads for semi-dry system? E.g. two sponge pads and one Whatman paper instead of three papers?

never heard of it being done. sponge pads like scotch-brite don't hold liquids well (like a regular sponge). a regular sponge holds too much buffer.

also, the sponges won't give you the type of continuous contact required for semi-dry blotting.

the whatman paper is cheap enough (we used s&s #4 paper, precut sheets, it was even less expensive than whatman 3mm, if it is still being produced).

I agree with mdfenko. We use thick whatman paper, never heard about sponges in semidry.

Besides, the sponge pads (scotch-brie) may scratch the metal plates of the semi-dry machine.