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Updated: May 22, 2026

Fluorescent Silver Staining of Proteins in Polyacrylamide Gels
Published on: April 21, 2019
A brief review of other notable protein detection methods on acrylamide gels
Biji T Kurien1, R Hal Scofield
1Department of Veterans Affairs, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, USA. biji-kurien@omrf.org
Abstract:
Several methods have been described to stain proteins analyzed on acrylamide gels. These include ultrasensitive protein detection in one-dimensional and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis using a fluorescent product from the fungus Epicoccum nigrum; a fluorescence-based Coomassie Blue protein staining; visualization of proteins in acrylamide gels using ultraviolet illumination; fluorescence visualization of proteins in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels using environmentally benign, nonfixative, saline solution; and increasing the sensitivity four- to sixfold for detecting trace proteins in dye or silver stained polyacrylamide gels using polyethylene glycol 6000. All these methods are reviewed briefly in this chapter.
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