Automated Protein Assay Using Flow Injection Analysis

The technique of flow injection analysis (FIA) is a common instrumental method used in detecting a variety of chemical and biological agents. This paper describes an undergraduate laboratory that uses FIA to perform a bicinchoninic acid (BCA) colorimetric assay for quantitating protein samples. The method requires less than 2 min per sample injection and gives a response over a broad range of protein concentrations. This method can be used in instrumental analysis labs to illustrate the principles and use of FIA, or as a means for introducing students to common methods employed in the analysis of biological agents.