Silver Staining of 2D Electrophoresis Gels

TL;DR

This paper reviews silver staining techniques for 2D electrophoresis gels, emphasizing their high sensitivity, cost-effectiveness, and considerations for proteomics applications like mass spectrometry compatibility and quantification.

Contribution

It provides optimized protocols for silver staining that enhance compatibility with mass spectrometry and quantitative analysis in proteomics.

Findings

Silver staining offers high sensitivity in protein detection.

Protocols are optimized for mass spectrometry compatibility.

Quantitative response of silver staining is discussed.

Abstract

Silver staining is used to detect proteins after electrophoretic separation on polyacrylamide gels. It -combines excellent sensitivity (in the low nanogram range) with the use of very simple and cheap equipment and chemicals. For its use in proteomics, two important additional features must be considered, compatibility with mass spectrometry and quantitative response. Both features are discussed in this chapter, and optimized silver staining protocols are proposed.