Melanie

Innovative software for 2-D gel and blot analysis

is a comprehensive software solution for the visualization, matching, detection, quantitation, and analysis of 2-D gel electrophoresis images. It is used to establish the statistical significance of protein expression changes between experimental groups.

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Melanie 8.0 is a complete revamp of the previous software, with a single goal in mind: help you draw more reliable conclusions from all your 2-D electrophoresis data, with ease.
Trusted for more than 30 years by researchers in academia and industry, Melanie is constantly improved and maintained by a team at the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, in collaboration with GeneBio and GE Healthcare. This access to talent, expertise, and technology, in combination with direct feedback from users and specialists in the field, supports development of highly relevant solutions for your gel-based protein expression profiling.

Applications

The software is suitable for a wide range of applications and methods, including conventional 2-DE and 2-DIGE (difference gel electrophoresis) experiments, Western blots, and other multiplexed technologies.
The advanced normalization options can be applied, for example, to host cells expressing recombinant protein, or to analysis of samples from different subcellular fractions. This capability opens up new applications, from expression analysis to process development for monoclonal antibodies.

Key features

  • Step-by-step workflow for easy guidance through the analysis.
  • Image quality control to optimize image capture.
  • Experimental design wizard to easily define the experimental design variables.
  • Alignment strategy to increase efficiency and minimize match editing work.
  • 100% spot matching and virtually identical spot patterns for all images, for high data confidence.
  • Advanced normalization options to extend the range of applications.
  • Specific statistical support for many one- and two-factor analyses, improving detection of true differences.
  • Automatic presentation of spot statistics.
  • Free on-line demonstration and training for new customers.
More information

Main advantages

  • Melanie lets you detect real differences in protein expression with high objectivity, sensitivity, and confidence. This capability is made possible through image quality control, 100% spot matching, and the use of statistical tests that take into account the design of your experiment.
  • With fewer false positives, you save time and money otherwise wasted on downstream analysis of protein changes that are merely due to biological variation.
  • Your analysis time will be substantially reduced with the intuitive step-by-step workflow and powerful strategies that increase efficiency of alignment without requiring spot editing.
  • If you are a new user, clear image analysis guidance and robust default settings will help you to get started quickly.
  • Melanie lets you stay in control of your analysis. It offers a high degree of flexibility at all levels, from image display choices, through normalization options and advanced workflow settings.
  • The free viewer functionality permits you to easily share your work and scientific discoveries so you can collaborate with colleagues all over the world.

Documentation

Licensing

Melanie is developed and copyrighted by SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics and its exclusive commercial representative GeneBio.
Access is subject to the licensing conditions outlined in the GeneBio License Agreement (PDF).

Please contact us for further details.

Melanie website

 

Example of a two-factor DIGE experiment analyzed with Melanie 8. This bioprocess optimization study looked at the protein expression in bacteria cultivated at two different temperatures (20°C, in blue, and 37°C, in green), at 5 different time points (T0, T1, T2, T3, T4, from top to bottom). For each treatment, 6 replicates were prepared, thus generating a total of 60 different samples run on 30 gels. A pooled internal standard was included as a third sample on each gel. As can be seen in the interaction plots (bottom left) and expression profile (middle left), when cultivated at 20°C, the bacteria need significantly more time to produce the selected protein in the same quantities as the 37°C culture.