As a negative control I mixed my uncoated Streptavidin-Coupled Dynabeads® with my sample but got lots of non-specific binding to the beads. Why?
• When exposed to a sample consisting of different types of molecules, any solid phase matrix can interact with these molecules due to hydrophobicity, charge or other types of interactions. It is not surprising that you get non-specific binding to the beads. This method is actually used for pre-clearing of sample and is not considered a good negative control. When pre-blocked and coated with a specific molecule, beads show a lot less non-specific binding than when they are not coated. As a negative control, you could try beads that are coated with an irrelevant molecule.
