Give your gel the royal treatment!

Introducing a fast, sensitive and consistent coomassie protein stain

Imperial Protein Stain is a ready-to-use coomassie stain for detecting protein bands in SDS-PAGE and 2-D gels. This stain is a unique formulation of coomassie R-250 that delivers substantial improvements in protein-staining performance compared to homemade or other commercially available stains. The easy-to-follow protocol is flexible to meet demanding time and sensitivity requirements (Figure 1). Imperial Stain provides fast results - as little as 6 ng of protein can be detected in just 20 minutes (Figure 2). Even greater levels of sensitivity and crystal-clear background can be achieved using longer staining and washing times (Figures 3-5).

The use of Imperial Protein Stain does not result in the problems (e.g., staining consistency) associated with coomassie G-250 stain preparations. In addition to faster protein band development and more sensitivity than standard coomassie G-250 stains, Imperial Protein Stain does not require methanol/acetic acid fixation and destaining, saving valuable preparation time and minimizing reagent cost.

• Sensitive: > 3 ng protein/band
• Fast — detect as little as 6 ng protein/band in just 20 minutes
• Robust — highly consistent, reproducible protein staining
• Excellent photo-documentation — photographs/scans better than other coomassie stains
• Versatile - Compatible with mass spec analysis and protein sequencing

• Destain background with water
• No fixation step required
• Ready-to-use reagent
• Stable — store on your bench top for up to one year
• Flexible — adjust staining and washing times to meet demanding time/sensitivity requirements

Figure 1. Imperial Protein Stain Protocol



Figure 2. Imperial Protein Stain is fast and sensitive. Proteins were separated on Novex 4-20% Tris-Glycine Gels, stained for 5 minutes and washed 3 x 5 minutes with water. Lane 1: BSA only (6 µg), Lane 2: 1000 ng, Lane 3: 200 ng, Lane 4: 100 ng, Lane 5: 50 ng, Lane 6: 25 ng, Lane 7: 12 ng, Lane 8: 6 ng, Lane 9: 3 ng



Figure 3. Enhanced sensitivity and crystal-clear background using Imperial Protein Stain For even greater sensitivity and reduced background, gels can be stained with Imperial Protein Stain for 1 hour and washed with water from 1 hour to overnight. Lane 1: BSA only (6 µg), Lane 2: 1000 ng, Lane 3: 200 ng, Lane 4: 100 ng, Lane 5: 50 ng, Lane 6: 25 ng, Lane 7: 12 ng, Lane 8: 6 ng, Lane 9: 3 ng



Figure 4. Comparison of A-431 nuclear extract stained with Imperial Protein Stain or SimplyBlue SafeStain. Proteins were separated on Novex 4-20% Tris-Glycine Gels, stained for 1 hour and washed with water for 2 hours following manufacturer-recommended protocols.



Figure 5. Imperial Protein Stain reveals spots that are faint or not detected with other Coomassie stains. Mitochondrial protein extract was prepared from heart tissue of 6 week old Sprague-Dawley rat. Processed protein extract (72 µg) was focused on a pH 5-8 IPG strip followed by 8-16% SDS-PAGE. The gels were stained for 1 hour and washed with water overnight following manufacturer-recommended protocols.

U.S. Patent Pending on Imperial Protein Stain Technology