Stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α in buffer containing cobalt chloride for Western blot analysis.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is a widely studied protein with significant biomedical impact. Care is needed to stabilize HIF-1α protein during sample preparation for Western blot analysis due to its rapid degradation in the presence of oxygen. Enzyme inhibitor cocktails can be complex and expensive. We present a protease inhibitor-free buffer, containing cobalt chloride, which is effective at stabilizing HIF-1α, while being inexpensive, straightforward, and convenient, and has potential for widespread application.