Application of SYPRO Ruby- and Flamingo-stained polyacrylamide gels to Western blot analysis.

Western blots are widely used for analysis of the expression levels of specific proteins. Blotting is conducted after sodium dodecyl sulfate or native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis without staining the gel. However, when it is necessary to analyze the gel, duplicate polyacrylamide gels (one of which is stained) usually must be prepared, leading to the consumption of precious sample. Thus, we have developed a convenient and efficient Western blot method using a stained gel. This simple modification should be beneficial for the analysis of samples that are limited in quantity and/or samples for which the stained gel serves as the loading control.