Introduction

Once electrophoresis is complete, the gel must be analyzed to obtain information on the position and quantity of each protein. Because most proteins are not directly visible, the gel must be processed to determine the location and amount of the separated proteins. The most common analytical procedure is staining.

Proteins are usually stained with silver or Coomassie™ Blue. Once the gel is stained, it can be photographed or dried on a backing for a record of the position and intensity of each band and then analyzed.