Staining SDS-Polyacrylamide Gels with Silver Salts
This protocol was adapted from “Commonly Used Techniques in Molecular Cloning,” Appendix 8, in Molecular Cloning, Volume 3, 3rd edition (eds. Sambrook and Russell). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA, 2001.INTRODUCTION
A number of methods have been developed to stain polypeptides with silver salts after separation by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It is somewhat more difficult to perform than staining with Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250, but it is ~100-1000-fold more sensitive and is capable of detecting as little as 0.1-1.0 ng of polypeptide in a single band.
