Modification in Silver Staining Procedure for Enhanced Protein Staining

Silver staining is an excellent technique for detecting proteins that are separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Protein silver staining technology has higher sensitivity and is suitable for the detection of low-concentration proteins compared to other staining techniques including the Coomassie brilliant blue detection method. The present study was conducted to enhance the detection ability of the protein staining method. Herein, we modified the recipe of silver staining, a very reproducible method, by adding AMP, PVP, Tween-80, and xylene to enhance the detection ability of protein staining. Furthermore, the particle size and potentiometer were used to detect the particle size and potential difference of the silver ions in the prepared dyeing materials, and then, the morphology, transparency, and size of the dyed silver particles in different dyeing solutions were studied using a transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The obtained results revealed that the use of 0.5% of AMP, PVP, Tween-80, and xylene improved the staining ability of protein silver staining, compared with the original method. Furthermore, 0.5% AMP, 0.5% PVP, 0.5% Tween-80 reagents significantly influenced the morphology, size, potential, and dispersion of silver ions. These results suggested a new idea for further improving the detection ability of protein silver staining.