Staining of Proteins in Gels

grant.ra@pg.com

We run a lot of 2D gels (mini and large format). Often Coomassie blue
stain (even the most sensitive methods) does not give us enough sensitivity
to visualize as many proteins as we want to see, so we need to silver stain
our gels. This is a rather time-consuming and often not-very-reproducible
process, especially if you have 10-20 gels to stain.

What other staining methods are people routinely using that are in the same
range of sensitivity as silver? How reproducible are they? If you use
fluorescent stains, how do you see the spot while you are cutting it out?
Assuming that there is enough mass in a particular spot, can the proteins
be identified using peptide mass mapping or other MS methods? i. e., is
the stain compatible with identification by these methods?

Thanks!

Ray Grant
The Procter & Gamble Co.
Cincinnati, OH

grant.ra@pg.com
513-627-2179