Comparison of sensitivities of four protein staining methods in common use in two-dimensional electrophoresis

In order to choose an appropriate visualization method for proteomics research,the sensitivities of four staining methods in common use in two-dimensional electrophoresis(2-DE) were investigated by using of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE).The results showed that the sensitivity of GE silver staining method was at the level of 5 ng,Blum silver staining method was at the level of 10 ng,Schevchenko silver staining method was at the level of 50 ng,whereas Coomassie brilliant blue(CBB) staining method was only at the level of 0.25 μg.According to the above results in combination with the requirement of MS analysis,it was suggested that GE silver staining method was simpler and more sensitive,and more suitable for proteomic analysis.