How to reproduce lab protocols from papers
These guides cover common wet-lab methods and what it takes to reproduce them from a published methods section. Each one lists the details papers most often leave out, the parameters that change together, a troubleshooting table, and a worked example that tags every step by how clearly the paper stated it.
- qPCR
What qPCR methods sections usually leave out, which parameters move together, a troubleshooting table for Cq drift and melt curves, and a worked example.
- Western blot
What Western blot methods leave out, how antibody dilution, blocking, and transfer interact, and a triage table for no bands, high background, extra bands.
- ELISA
The ELISA details papers omit, how coating, blocking, and detection antibody shape the standard curve, and how to fix nonlinear curves, high CV, edge effects.
- RNA extraction
What RNA extraction methods leave unsaid, how input amount drives every volume and spin, and how to diagnose degradation, low yield, and bad absorbance ratios.
- Transfection
The transfection parameters papers omit, how DNA amount, reagent ratio, and plate format scale together, and how to separate low efficiency from toxicity.
- Cell culture passaging
Which cell culture details papers skip, how split ratio, confluency, and seeding density scale together, and how to catch over-digestion and mycoplasma.
- CRISPR knockout
What CRISPR knockout methods omit, how guide design, delivery, and validation depend on each other, and how to diagnose low editing and false-positive clones.
- Organoid culture
Organoid methods hide the hard parts: conditioned medium, matrix lot, growth factor source. What to pin down, and how to stop domes collapsing or fragmenting.
- IHC / IF staining
What IHC and immunofluorescence methods leave out, how fixation and antigen retrieval drive everything after them, and how to tell real signal from background.
- Flow cytometry
What flow cytometry methods omit, how fluorophore choice, controls, and gating depend on each other, and how to diagnose compensation and viability problems.