Calculator or workflow name
BCA protein assay calculator
Category
Protein assay
Laboratory workflow need
Users often need to prepare BCA working reagent, set up protein standards, enter absorbance values, and estimate protein concentrations from a standard curve. A calculator should help organize the assay setup, calculate reagent volume, and estimate sample protein concentration with dilution correction.
Required inputs
- Number of standards
- Standard concentrations
- Standard absorbance values
- Sample IDs
- Sample absorbance values
- Sample dilution factor
- Replicate count
- Working reagent volume per well or tube
- Extra volume percentage or fixed extra volume
Expected outputs
- Total BCA working reagent volume
- Reagent A volume
- Reagent B volume
- Calculated sample concentration
- Dilution-corrected concentration
- Standard curve summary
- Warning messages for out-of-range samples
Formula or calculation rules
BCA working reagent is commonly prepared as:
Reagent A : Reagent B = 50 : 1
Total working reagent volume = reaction count × working reagent volume per reaction × (1 + extra percentage)
Reagent A volume = total working reagent volume × 50 / 51
Reagent B volume = total working reagent volume × 1 / 51
Initial concentration estimation can use a simple linear standard curve:
y = a × x + b
Where:
- x = protein concentration
- y = absorbance
Sample concentration:
x = (sample absorbance - b) / a
Dilution-corrected concentration:
corrected concentration = calculated concentration × dilution factor
Units
Protein concentration: ug/mL, mg/mL
Volume: mL, uL
Absorbance: OD value
Dilution factor: numeric multiplier
Validation rules and warnings
- Standard concentrations must be numeric
- Absorbance values must be numeric
- At least two standard points are required for linear fitting
- Dilution factor must be positive
- Reaction count must be positive
- Working reagent volume must be positive
- Warn if sample absorbance is outside the standard curve range
- Warn if curve slope is zero or invalid
Example calculation
Reaction count = 20
Working reagent volume per reaction = 200 uL
Extra volume = 10%
Total working reagent volume = 4.4 mL
Expected BCA reagent preparation:
Reagent A = 4.314 mL
Reagent B = 0.086 mL
References or notes
Initial implementation should support BCA working reagent preparation and linear standard curve calculation. More advanced curve fitting can be discussed separately.
Scope check
Calculator or workflow name
BCA protein assay calculator
Category
Protein assay
Laboratory workflow need
Users often need to prepare BCA working reagent, set up protein standards, enter absorbance values, and estimate protein concentrations from a standard curve. A calculator should help organize the assay setup, calculate reagent volume, and estimate sample protein concentration with dilution correction.
Required inputs
Expected outputs
Formula or calculation rules
BCA working reagent is commonly prepared as:
Reagent A : Reagent B = 50 : 1
Total working reagent volume = reaction count × working reagent volume per reaction × (1 + extra percentage)
Reagent A volume = total working reagent volume × 50 / 51
Reagent B volume = total working reagent volume × 1 / 51
Initial concentration estimation can use a simple linear standard curve:
y = a × x + b
Where:
Sample concentration:
x = (sample absorbance - b) / a
Dilution-corrected concentration:
corrected concentration = calculated concentration × dilution factor
Units
Protein concentration: ug/mL, mg/mL
Volume: mL, uL
Absorbance: OD value
Dilution factor: numeric multiplier
Validation rules and warnings
Example calculation
Reaction count = 20
Working reagent volume per reaction = 200 uL
Extra volume = 10%
Total working reagent volume = 4.4 mL
Expected BCA reagent preparation:
Reagent A = 4.314 mL
Reagent B = 0.086 mL
References or notes
Initial implementation should support BCA working reagent preparation and linear standard curve calculation. More advanced curve fitting can be discussed separately.
Scope check