Western blot as a classical protein quantification technique has been preceived as the golden standard for protein expression studies and has become an essential experiment for every molecular biology laboratory. However, the development of western blot technology has been very slow, among which the imaging detection technology has suffered from stagnant development for over 20 years.

The earliest imaging method adopted was DAB colorimetry, which had been eliminated because of its lack of sensitivity and quantitative range.

The chemiluminescence method was later emerged. There are 2 imaging methods used- darkroom filming and cold CCD imaging.

• The darkroom filming method features a very limited quantitative range that makes accurate quantitation even impossible. Therefore it is gradually abandoned by scientists.
• Nowadays the cold CCD imaging remains widely-used. The method replying on lens to fulfil the imaging process makes the imaging distance too long, plus the small-sized chip, thus resulting in even lower imaging sensitivity compared to darkroom filming. Its quantitative range is also too narrow to meet the increasing requirements of scientific researches.

Some people also try to use fluorescence imaging to do western imaging. Yet due to the fluorescence background interference of the film, fluorescence methods are far less sensitive than chemiluminescence methods, so they are also rarely used.

The revolutionary touch chemiluminescence imaging technology of e-Blot makes full advantage of the high sensitivity of the chemiluminescence method, overcomes many shortcomings of cold CDD imaging, and improves the imaging sensitivity, 2-3 logs higher quantitative range and efficiency, leading western imaging into a whole new era.