History
Camillo Golgi perfected silver staining for the study of the nervous system. Although the exact chemical mechanism by which this occurs is unknown, Golgi's method stains a limited number of cells at random in their entirety.
Silver staining was introduced by Kerenyi and Gallyas as a sensitive procedure to detect trace amounts of proteins in gels. The technique has been extended to the study of other biological macromolecules that have been separated in a variety of supports.
Classical Coomassie Brilliant Blue staining can usually detect a 50 ng protein band; silver staining increases the sensitivity typically 50 times.
Many variables can influence the colour intensity and every protein has its own staining characteristics; clean glassware, pure reagents and water of highest purity are the key points to successful staining.
Read more about this topic: Silver Stain
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