Selective precipitation of zinc imidazolate: Application to the detection of biomolecules (proteins, nucleic acids, and bacterial glycolipids) separated in polyacrylamide gels

Abstract:

At the start of the past decade a group of scientists from the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana, Cuba, described a new method that uses zinc (11) and imidazole salts for the detection of proteins separated by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels. In this method the principle that is known in the literature as reverse staining is applied, and is based on the selective precipitation of Znlm2 all over the gel matrix, except in the zones where the biomolecule bands are located. Its main advantages are high sensitivity and speed of detection under reversible conditions. Since then, the method has been improved and applied to the efficient microcharacterization of proteins, and to the detection and micropurification of nucleic acids and glycolipids from bacteria. The principal interest was to preserve the integrity of the biomolecules and whenever possible, their biological activity. Here, the background and main results that led to the establishment, better understanding and generalization of the reverse staining-based detection method for biomolecules are reviewed.

Año de publicación:

2002

Keywords:

• Polyacrylamide
• Nucleic acids
• lipopolysaccharides
• Negative staining
• proteins
• Electrophoresis

Fuente:

scopus