Bio-Rad Silver Stain Plus Kit - Manual (Page 3)

Silver Stain Plus 1
Introduction
Silver Stain Plus ™ is a quick, simple system for detecting
proteins or nucleic acids in polyacrylamide and dried
agarose gels after electrophoresis. Proteins and nucleic
acids can be visualized in 1 hour with very little hands-
on time by employing a carrier-complex silver staining
chemistry similar to that developed by Gottlieb and
Chavko for detecting DNA in agarose gels.1 Silver staining
is very sensitive. Silver Stain Plus is 30 to 50-fold more
sensitive than Coomassie Blue R-250 dye and will detect
nanogram quantities of protein and DNA. To ensure best
results, always use high-quality deionized distilled water
and extremely clean glassware. Always wear gloves when
using the kit components and when handling gels.
Components
The Silver Stain Plus kit includes the following components
in quantities sufficient to stain 40 mini gels
(8 x 10 cm) or 13 conventional gels (16 x 16–20 cm):
• Fixative enhancer concentrate
• Silver complex solution (contains NH
4
NO
3
and AgNO
3
)
• Reduction moderator solution (contains tungstosilicic
acid)
• Image development reagent (contains formaldehyde)
• Development accelerator reagent (contains Na
2
CO
3
)
• Empty 1 L bottle for development accelerator