Thermo Scientific™ Pierce™ EDC, No-Weigh™ Format

Thermo Scientific™ Pierce™ EDC is a water-soluble, zero-length crosslinker that activates carboxyl groups for efficient covalent coupling to primary amines. It forms amide bonds without leaving a spacer between linked molecules, preserving molecular structure and function. In its No-Weigh™ format, EDC is pre-aliquoted into convenient single-use vials to eliminate weighing errors, reduce contamination, and ensure consistent performance with every experiment.

This reagent is ideal for a wide range of bioconjugation applications, including protein-peptide conjugation, hapten-carrier coupling, affinity purification ligand attachment, and surface modification of nanoparticles and resins.

Key Features & Benefits

• Zero-Length Crosslinking: Creates direct amide bonds between carboxyl and amine groups with no spacer arm
• Water-Soluble: Reactions can be carried out in physiological buffers without organic solvents
• Stable and High-Purity: Crystalline reagent with leach-resistant formulation and high conjugation efficiency
• No-Weigh™ Format: Pre-aliquoted single-use packaging ensures convenience, reproducibility, and reduced waste
• NHS Compatibility: Can be combined with Sulfo-NHS to form stable, amine-reactive intermediates
• Clean Reaction Byproducts: Water-soluble urea byproducts allow for easy cleanup

Mechanism of Action

EDC reacts with a carboxyl group to form an O-acylisourea intermediate, which is highly reactive toward primary amines. The result is a direct amide bond with the release of isourea. In aqueous systems, this intermediate is unstable and may hydrolyze unless stabilized with NHS or Sulfo-NHS.

Applications

• Covalent coupling of peptides and proteins
• Conjugation of haptens to immunogenic carriers (e.g., peptide to KLH)
• Surface modification of magnetic beads and nanoparticles
• Preparation of NHS-activated esters for protein labeling
• Immobilization of antigens for affinity purification
• DNA labeling via 5′ phosphate groups
• Bioconjugation in biosensor and drug delivery research

Technical Specifications

Thermo Scientific™ Pierce™ EDC, No-Weigh™ Format offers a precise, clean, and flexible solution for covalently linking biomolecules through carboxyl-amine chemistry. Its zero-length crosslinking mechanism, pre-aliquoted packaging, and compatibility with NHS esters make it a powerful reagent for researchers performing labeling, immobilization, and conjugation of peptides, proteins, nucleic acids, or nanoparticles.