
Simple Western Instruments & Consumables from ProteinSimple, a Bio-Techne brand
Jess
Jess
Automated Western blot analysis
Assay Type: Size-based capillary Western blot assays on up to 25 samples
Includes RePlex™ and Stellar™ High Sensitivity NIR/IR Detection
Detection Modes: Chemiluminescence and fluorescence
Consumables
Consumables
Simple Western Consumables: Reagents, kits, and modules.
Compatible with Jess™, Wes™, Abby™, Peggy Sue™, Sally Sue™, and NanoPro™ 1000
Peggy Sue
Peggy Sue
Automated Western blot analysis
Assay Type: Size and charge-based capillary Western blot assays on up to 96 samples
Detection Mode: Chemiluminescence
Sally Sue
Sally Sue
Automated Western blot analysis
Assay Type: Size-based capillary Western blot assays on up to 96 samples
Detection Mode: Chemiluminescence
NanoPro 1000
NanoPro 1000
Automated Western blot analysis
Assay Type: Charge-based capillary Western blot assays on up to 96 samples
Detection Mode: Chemiluminescence
Wes™ has been discontinued as of July 30th, 2021. ProteinSimple will continue service and support of the Wes platform through July 30th, 2026. Upgrade to Jess™ or Abby™ to have all the functionality of Wes with additional features like RePlex™ and Stellar™ High Sensitivity NIR/IR Detection (Jess only).
What is Simple Western?
Simple Western Brings the Western Blot Technique into the 21st Century
Simple Western™ from ProteinSimple, a Bio-Techne brand, is a next-generation biomolecular analytical tool that seamlessly combines capillary electrophoresis and immunodetection with conventional Western blot antibodies. Simple Western is the only fully automated Western blot system on the market, and it is completely gel-free, blot-free, and hands-free. With Simple Western, traditional Western blot steps like separation, washing, and detection are automatically performed inside a benchtop capillary electrophoresis machine. Just load as little as 3 µL of sample and come back to highly quantitative and reproducible results in just 3 hours.
More Than Just a Western Blot Alternative
With Simple Western, you can multiplex to get the most data per sample with industry-leading detection sensitivity in both NIR/IR fluorescence and chemiluminescence channels and normalize your protein expression data with built-in total protein normalization. Featured in hundreds of scientific publications and counting, Simple Western is a proven capillary Western blot technology that not only streamlines workflows, but also generates quantitative, reproducible, and publication-ready results that raise the bar on scientific rigor in protein analysis.
Simple Western Separates Proteins by Size or Charge
- Size-based capillary Western blot assays use capillary electrophoresis sodium dodecyl sulfate (CE-SDS) to separate proteins between 2 kDa and 440 kDa to analyze small polypeptides and large proteins like dystrophin to study Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
- Charge-based capillary Western blot assays use capillary isoelectric focusing (cIEF) to separate proteins by their isoelectric points which provides a high-resolution characterization of protein isoforms and post-translational modifications like phosphorylation.

How Can Simple Western Help You?
Low Sample Volume, High Detection Sensitivity. Simple Western systems use as little as 3 µL of starting material and give down to picogram-level sensitivity. Up to 8 data points can be generated out of just 5 µL, allowing you to get the most out of your precious sample. Get even more data per sample with multiplex analysis in multicolor detection channels.
Fast Time to Results. Process 25 samples in just 3 hours, or 96 samples overnight, all in a fully-automated, walk-away fashion.
Gel-Free, Blot-Free, Hands-Free Automation. Simple Western assays are fully automated with no gels, no transfer devices, no blots, no film, and no manual analysis. Just load your samples and press start—it's a complete, walk-away capillary Western blot machine for protein separation and detection. Reclaim your time!
Reproducible and Quantitative Data. By eliminating the variability inherent in manual traditional western blotting workflows, Simple Western assays are highly reproducible, while adding quantitation, and improving on time-to-result and overall data reliability. Abandon unreliable housekeeping controls and use Simple Western’s built-in total protein detection assays instead, so you can normalize your protein expression data with confidence and meet journal standards with publication-ready data.

Industry-Leading Fluorescence Sensitivity for Western Blot Analysis with Stellar
Now NIR/IR fluorescence detection on Simple Western is even better with Stellar™ NIR/IR Detection Modules for Jess™, which provides industry-leading fluorescence sensitivity at detection levels below 1 pg, along with excellent reproducibility and a 4-log dynamic range. With this leap in sensitivity, Stellar fluorescence detection rivals the widely recognized sensitivity of chemiluminescence detection and demolishes the fluorescence detection of the closest competing traditional Western blot imaging technology, which requires at least 50 pg.

Rethink, Reuse, RePlex
Perform sequential immunoassays in the same capillary using RePlex™ with Jess™ and Abby™ and eliminate the strip-and-reprobe of traditional Western blots. RePlex removes the antibodies from the first round of probing to perform either a second round of probing with new antibodies or total protein detection. Importantly, RePlex efficiently removes antibodies between probing without compromising the integrity of the immobilized protein or its epitopes, allowing for excellent reproducibility across cycles. With Jess’s chemiluminescence and fluorescence channels, you can detect multiple targets per cycle. The second cycle can also be dedicated to total protein detection so that you can normalize your protein expression data with confidence.

Which system is right for you?
Simple Western System |
Jess |
Abby |
Sally Sue |
Peggy Sue |
NanoPro 1000 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Simple Western size assays |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Simple Western charge assays |
No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Chemiluminescence |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Fluorescence |
Yes | No | No | No | No |
Includes RePlex for sequential immunoassays (or IA + Total Protein) with the same sample |
Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Maximum samples per run |
25 | 25 | 96 | 96 | 96 |
Run time for max samples (size) |
<3 hours <5 hours with RePlex |
<3 hours <5 hours with RePlex |
14-19 hours | 14-19 hours | N/A |
Run time for max samples (charge) |
N/A | N/A | N/A | 11 hours | 11 hours |
Sample cooling (size) |
N/A | N/A | 10ºC | 10ºC | N/A |
Sample cooling (charge) |
N/A | N/A | N/A | 3ºC | 3ºC |
Dimensions (H x W x D) |
33 x 33 x 52 cm | 33 x 33 x 52 cm | 94 x 94 x 61 cm | 94 x 94 x 61 cm | 94 x 94 x 61 cm |
Part number |
004-650 | 004-680 | 004-700 | 004-900 | 004-109 |
Total Protein | Immunoassay | Immunoassay | |
---|---|---|---|
Description |
Size Specification |
Size Specification |
Charge Specification |
Sample required |
0.3-1.2 µg lysate |
0.6-1.2 µg lysate |
0.6-1.2 µg |
Size or pI range |
2-40, 12-230 and 66-440 kDa |
2-40, 12-230 and 66-440 kDa |
Widest gradient ranges from pI 3 to pI 10 |
Sizing CV |
<10% |
<10% |
<10% |
Intra-assay CV |
<15% |
<15% |
<20% |
Inter-assay CV |
<20%* |
<20%1 |
<20%2 |
Resolution (± percent difference in MW) |
±15-20% for MW <20 kDa ±10% for MW >20 kDa |
±15-20% for MW <20 kDa ±10% for MW >20 kDa |
±0.1 pI units |
Quantitation CV |
<20% |
<20% |
<20% |
Dynamic range |
2-3 logs |
up to 4 logs |
3 logs |
Sensitivity |
pg3 |
Low pg |
Low pg |
Capillary |
5 cm, 100 µm, 400 nL |
5 cm, 100 µm, 400 nL |
5 cm, 100 µm, 400 nL |
Simple Western Applications
Cancer & Immuno-Oncology
Cancer & Immuno-Oncology
Transform your Cancer & Immuno-oncology research by utilizing next-generation western blotting tools to give you richer views into your samples.
SARS‑CoV‑2
SARS‑CoV‑2
Reduce your lab time with automated simple western systems while accelerating your COVID‑19 research. Set up, leave and remotely review your data in just 3 hours!
Cell & Gene Therapy
Cell & Gene Therapy
Next-generation analytical instrumentation to help improve and accelerate your cell and gene therapy workflows.
Targeted Degradation
Targeted Degradation
Boost your screening studies using high throughput & hands-free Simple Western systems for quantitative analysis.
SARS-CoV-2 Serology
SARS-CoV-2 Serology
Quantitatively characterize serum or plasma human IgG antibodies reactive against 5 key viral antigens within one 3-hour run!
Exosome
Exosome
A validated workflow for protein analysis in extracellular vesicle samples from the leaders in exosome isolation and high sensitivity western blotting solutions.
Vaccine Development
Vaccine Development
Improve reproducibility, quantitation, and time to market for your vaccine candidates.
Neuroscience
Neuroscience
Increase your sensitivity and multiplexing capabilities with neural samples using automated Western blotting systems.
Cell Signaling
Analyze entire signaling pathways with high sensitivity multiplexing and total protein normalization.