Cleaver Scientific (CSL) has introduced three stains for post-electrophoretic protein detection, which are reversible and claimed to be more sensitive than colorimetric and fluorescent stains.
Available in blue, green and red colours as CSLblue, CSLgreen and CSLred, these protein stains can detect a minimum 1-3ng of protein per square millimetre of gel.
Staining is simple, with the gel just immersed directly within the CSLblue, CSLgreen or CSLred stain for approximately one hour.
However, destaining is generally faster and may be completed within as little as 30 minutes.
Visualisation of the gel is performed with a visible light filter on a standard UV transilluminator, using the preferred lower energy 312nm or 365nm wavelengths.
Membranes following protein transfer may also be visualised in a dark hood after staining with CSLgreen.
All three CSL stains are based on metal chelates and will remain stable for at least one year without loss of sensitivity if stored in a refrigerator.
CSLblue is a colorimetric chelate stain, strongly visible under white light and at least twice as sensitive as Coomassie blue.
At visible wavelengths, CSLgreen produces a fluorescent signal with an intensity that is greatly increased in the presence of detergent to the extent that it is four times more sensitive than Coomassie blue.
CSLred's fluorescence intensity also increases in the presence of detergent, which results in it being able to detect protein with at least two-fold greater sensitivity than Sypro Ruby.
All three stains are reversible enabling them to be removed to allow the gel to be subjected to other post-electrophoretic applications.
They can also be reused up to three times for repeated staining.
Typical applications include post-electrophoretic staining of protein gels and blots and for imaging following 2D electrophoresis.
