Bio-Rad Silver Stain Plus Kit - Manual (Page 10)

8 Silver Stain Plus
Agarose Gel Staining
To prepare an agarose gel for silver staining, it is first
necessary to dry the gel after electrophoresis. When the
gel is dry it will be clear, wafer-thin, and easy to handle.
Follow any one of the three following techniques for drying
agarose gels up to 6 mm thick. When the gel is dried,
follow the procedure for polyacrylamide gel staining.
Suggested Techniques for Drying
Agarose Gels
Air Drying
Place the gel on the hydrophobic side of a sheet of gel
support film and air dry in a hood overnight. If necessary,
use tape to keep the gel in place. Remove the gel from the
support film and follow the procedure for polyacrylamide
gel staining.
Compression Drying
Sandwich the gel between two pieces of dry cellophane.
Place the sandwiched gel on three sheets of filter paper
and cover with three sheets of filter paper. Apply a
1–2 kg weight on top of the filter paper. Let dry overnight.
When dry, remove cellophane from the gel and follow the
procedure for polyacrylamide gel staining.
Vacuum Drying
A gel dryer, such as Bio-Rad’s Model 583 gel dryer, is
used in this method. First place a sheet of filter paper
on the porous gel support plate. Place a sheet of dry
cellophane on the filter paper. Lay the gel on top of the
cellophane and cover it with a second sheet of cellophane,
plastic wrap, or gel support film.