Staining with Ponceau-S

[Michael G. Kurilla]

knight at grafton.dartmouth.edu  writes:
> Hi,
> 	Could someone point me to a protocol for staining Western Blots
> (PVDF membranes) with Ponceau-S?  I'm currently using Coommassie Blue, but
> it takes too long to destain :)  I tried a .1% w/v solution of Ponceau
> in 5% Acetic acid, but this did not stain well *at all* compared to
> Coommassie.  A 0.5% wasn't much better.  So I washed the membrane with
> water and re-stained with coommassie for 5 minutes, and a slew of bands
> showed up.  Do I just have the conc. of Ponceau wrong?  Should I just
> dissolve it in water?  Thanks in advance,
> 
Get the Ponceau S from Sigma.  They sell it in a concentrated
form with instructions on diluting it.  Can't remember off hand
how to do it.  It's good for a long time and can be reused over
nad over again.  We routinely replace it after 1 year.