Silver staining techniques of polyacrylamide gels.

Although the main application for polyacrylamide gels is the separation and subsequent blotting of proteins for immunodetection, there are tasks that need staining of proteins in the polyacrylamide gel. Several different staining techniques exist for protein staining in SDS gels that differ in their sensitivity, their expenditure of time, and other aspects. Still, silver staining is the most sensitive and reliable staining technique. Because this technique was developed in the 1970s, a huge number of variations exist. Therefore, we will provide herein three methods, which are robust and easy to perform.