Protein Gel Staining and Imaging

Whether you just need a quick visual confirmation or require a highly-sensitive stain to detect low-abundance proteins, we offer a variety of easy-to-use, effective protein stains for both in-gel and on-membrane detection. Check out our comprehensive collection of stains including Coomassie dye-based, silver, fluorescent, tagged fusion protein, specialty, and multiplexed proteomics protein gel stains.

Choose the protein staining method most suitable for your experiments

	Coomassie Staining	Silver Staining	Fluorescent Protein Staining
Sensitivity	25 ng	0.5 ng	0.5 ng
Ease of use	+++	+	+
Mode of action	In acidic buffer conditions, coomassie dye binds to basic and hydrophobic residues of proteins, changing from dull reddish-brown to intense blue.	Silver ions interact and bind with with carboxylic acid groups ( Asp and Glu), imidazole (His), sulfhydryls (Cys), and amines (Lys). Silver ions are reduced to metallic silver, resulting in brown-black color.	Most fluorescent stains involve simply dye-binding mechanisms rather than chemical reactions that alter protein functional groups.
Detection	Visual	Visual	Compatible imaging system
Compatibiltity with downstream applications	MS and sequencing compatible	Certain formulations are MS compatible	Most stains are MS compatible
	Learn more	Learn more	Learn more