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Membrane-Impermeant Chemistry

Surface Biotinylation Service

Precise cell surface protein labeling with membrane-impermeant Sulfo-NHS chemistry. Our reagents carry a negative charge that prevents membrane penetration, ensuring only surface proteins are labeled while preserving cell viability.

Multiple Spacer Options
HABA QC Verified
Cell Viability Preserved

Why Choose Our Service

Membrane-impermeant chemistry
Spacer lengths 13.5A to 30.5A
Permanent or cleavable bonds
Mass spec verification

Sulfo-NHS-Biotin

13.5A spacer, 443.43 Da MW

Sulfo-NHS-LC-Biotin

22.4A spacer for improved accessibility

Sulfo-NHS-SS-Biotin

24.3A cleavable disulfide spacer

Reaction pH
7.0-9.0
Service Overview

Why Choose Our Surface Biotinylation Service

Membrane-impermeant chemistry for selective, efficient surface protein modification

Membrane-Impermeant Chemistry

Our Sulfo-NHS reagents carry a negative charge that prevents membrane penetration, ensuring only surface proteins are labeled while preserving cell viability and intracellular protein function.

  • No intracellular labeling
  • Cell viability maintained
  • Native protein function preserved

Multiple Spacer Arm Options

Choose from various spacer lengths to optimize your experiment. Shorter spacers for minimal steric hindrance, longer ones for improved accessibility.

  • 13.5A standard spacer
  • 22.4A long-chain option
  • 24.3A-30.5A extended spacers

QC Verified Results

Every batch undergoes HABA assay and mass spectrometry verification to confirm labeling efficiency and biotin incorporation levels before delivery.

  • HABA assay verification
  • Mass spec confirmation
  • SDS-PAGE analysis included

Ready to Get Started?

Our technical team is ready to help you optimize your surface biotinylation protocol.

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Technology Platform

NHS-Ester Biotinylation Chemistry

Powered by advanced Sulfo-NHS chemistry for selective, efficient surface protein modification

Reaction Mechanism

N-Hydroxysulfosuccinimide (Sulfo-NHS) esters react efficiently with primary amine groups (-NH2) at pH 7-9 to form stable amide bonds. The reaction mechanism involves nucleophilic attack by the amine on the NHS ester carbonyl, releasing N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide as a byproduct.

Key Reaction Features:

  • Irreversible amide bond formation
  • Reaction at physiological pH
  • Water-soluble, no organic solvents needed
  • High coupling efficiency

Sulfo-NHS-Biotin

R-NH2 + Sulfo-NHS-Biotin to R-NH-CO-Biotin + Sulfo-NHS

Spacer Arm: 13.5A | MW: 443.43 Da

Service Specifications

Comprehensive parameters for your surface biotinylation needs

Parameter Specification
Reagent Type Sulfo-NHS-Biotin, Sulfo-NHS-LC-Biotin, Sulfo-NHS-SS-Biotin
Spacer Arm Length 13.5A, 22.4A, 24.3A, 30.5A options available
Cell Permeability Cell-impermeant (negatively charged sulfo group)
Reactive Group Primary amine (-NH2), lysine side chains, N-termini
Bond Type Permanent amide bond (non-cleavable) or disulfide cleavable (SS)
Sample Input Live cells, tissue samples, purified proteins (1-10 mg)
Reaction pH pH 7.0-9.0 (optimal pH 7.5-8.5)
Reaction Time 30 min at RT or 2 hours on ice
Buffer Requirements Amine-free buffer (PBS, borate, HEPES); no Tris, glycine
Quality Control HABA assay, mass spectrometry verification, SDS-PAGE

Service Workflow

A streamlined process from sample preparation to QC-verified delivery

1

Sample Preparation

Cells washed with ice-cold PBS, tissue samples processed, proteins exchanged to amine-free buffer

2

Reagent Preparation

Fresh 10mM Sulfo-NHS-Biotin solution prepared in ultrapure water immediately before use

3

Labeling Reaction

20-fold molar excess reagent, incubation 30 min RT or 2 hr on ice with gentle agitation

4

Quenching

50mM Tris or glycine added to quench unreacted NHS ester, preventing over-labeling

5

Purification

Desalting columns or dialysis to remove excess reagent and reaction byproducts

6

QC and Delivery

HABA assay, MS verification, SDS-PAGE analysis, lyophilized product shipped

Research Applications

Versatile applications across multiple research areas

Surface Proteomics

Identification and quantification of cell surface proteins via LC-MS/MS

Flow Cytometry

Cell surface marker detection and analysis with fluorescent streptavidin

Protein Pull-Down

Affinity purification of biotinylated proteins using streptavidin beads

ELISA Development

Biotinylated antigens for sandwich and direct ELISA formats

What Researchers Say

Trusted by scientists worldwide

Principal Investigator

Leading Cancer Research Center

The membrane-impermeant chemistry was exactly what we needed for our surface proteomics study. Excellent labeling efficiency with minimal background.

Postdoctoral Researcher

Major Research University

The multiple spacer options allowed us to optimize our experiment for downstream flow cytometry. Fast turnaround and detailed QC reports.

Scientific Literature

Based on peer-reviewed research in surface biotinylation technologies

sBioSITe enables sensitive identification of the cell surface proteome

Garapati K, Ding H, Charlesworth MC, Kim Y, et al. Clinical Proteomics. 2023.

A novel method for identifying cell surface proteins through direct enrichment of biotinylated peptides using LC-MS/MS analysis.

View DOI

Mass spectrometry-based methods for surfaceome dynamics and clinical implications

Xu X, Yin K, Xu S, Wang Z, Wu R. Expert Review of Proteomics. 2024.

Review of mass spectrometry methods for surfaceome analysis including NHS-ester based chemical biotinylation approaches.

View DOI

Cell Surface Biotinylation Using Furan Cross-Linking Chemistry

Fernandez E, Miret-Casals L, Madder A, Gevaert K. Methods in Molecular Biology. 2023.

Detailed protocol for surface biotinylation using furan-biotin affinity purification for mass spectrometry analysis.

View DOI

Universal Surface Biotinylation for single-cell RNA-seq multiplexing

Sugimoto M, Tada Y, Shichino S, Koyamatsu S, et al. DNA Research. 2022.

A simple method for labeling cell surface proteins applicable to various cell types for single-cell analysis.

View DOI

Rapid Enzyme-Mediated Biotinylation for Cell Surface Proteome Profiling

Li Y, Wang Y, Yao Y, Lyu J, et al. Analytical Chemistry. 2021.

Peroxidase-mediated labeling strategy achieving efficient surface labeling within one minute using tyrosine coupling.

View DOI

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about our surface biotinylation service

What is the difference between Sulfo-NHS-Biotin and Sulfo-NHS-SS-Biotin?

Sulfo-NHS-Biotin forms a permanent, non-cleavable amide bond with primary amines. Sulfo-NHS-SS-Biotin contains a cleavable disulfide bond in the spacer, allowing biotin to be released under reducing conditions if needed for downstream applications.

Which spacer length should I choose?

Choose shorter spacers (13.5A) when minimal steric hindrance is critical. Choose longer spacers (22.4A-30.5A) when improved accessibility for streptavidin binding or downstream applications is needed. PEG spacers provide better solubility and reduced aggregation.

Can you work with live cells?

Yes. Our membrane-impermeant Sulfo-NHS reagents are specifically designed for live cell labeling. The negatively charged sulfo group prevents membrane penetration, ensuring only extracellular proteins are labeled while maintaining cell viability.

What quality control methods are used?

Every batch undergoes HABA assay to quantify biotin incorporation, mass spectrometry verification to confirm molecular weight, and SDS-PAGE analysis to assess labeling efficiency. Detailed QC reports are included with each delivery.

What is the optimal pH for the labeling reaction?

The optimal pH range is 7.5-8.5. The reaction proceeds efficiently from pH 7.0-9.0. Lower pH reduces reactivity while higher pH may cause protein degradation. We recommend using fresh reagents and maintaining consistent pH throughout the reaction.

Get in Touch

Ready to discuss your surface biotinylation project? Contact our team for a customized quote.

Email

services@example.com

Phone

+1 555-123-4567

Response Time

Within 24 hours

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