Analytical Sciences 2012-01-01

Vitamin C-silver: an environmentally benign choice for DNA visualization on polyacrylamide gels.

Zhongxin Zhu, Weitao Cong, Hongzhang He, Xi Wang, Mao Chen, Guoying Hong, Litai Jin

Index: Anal. Sci. 28(4) , 379-84, (2012)

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Abstract

A practical, sensitive and environment-benign protocol for the detection of DNA on polyacrylamide gels was described. In this method, the most commonly used formaldehyde-based developer in DNA silver stain, which poses potential hazards to the health of operators, is firstly replaced by vitamin C (Vc) in sodium thiosulfate solution. This allows user-friendly and efficient visualization of DNA that takes about 20 min to complete all the procedures, and provides comparable sensitivity (8 pg of single band) to the most sensitive formaldehyde-based silver staining method developed before.