AcquaStain Protein Gel Stain

Like Coomassie Blue only simpler
AcquaStain is a single-step Coomassie Blue protein gel dye. This novel product doesn’t require pre- or post-treatment of the gel. Just run your protein gel, add the stain, and watch your bands appear in several seconds—no destaining required! AcquaStain also contains no harmful chemicals or acids, so it’s much safer than other dyes. It can even be disposed of in the sink after staining! Unlike many other stains, AcquaStain is a water-based product, which means that it causes no observable shrinkage or wrinkling of the gel. Better yet, unlike methanol-based stains, proteins isolated from AcquaStain treated gels are 100% compatible with mass spectrometry analysis.

One-step in 10 minutes
Other “fast” gel staining technologies require expensive equipment or trade speed for reduced clarity of the protein bands. AcquaStain doesn’t. And no other “fast” product is as fast, either—the entire staining procedure can be completed in about 10 minutes (for typical protein amounts). Don’t worry, though; it’s impossible to over-saturate with this product, so you can safely incubate overnight with no harmful effects. Only AcquaStain provides a reasonably-priced reagent without the need for an external apparatus while delivering a super-sensitive signal—equivalent to or better than the best Coomassie-based reagents on the market. Protein bands really stand out, too, because the gel background remains crystal clear. AcquaStain is a teal color that’s totally free from precipitate. Shaking before use is not necessary. It’s like nothing you’ve tried before.

Perfect for teaching labs
With the capacity to run and stain protein gels during a typical one hour wet-lab class, this stain is right at home in the teaching lab. Want to make things even easier? Try our inexpensive, easy, and portable gel documentation systems!

What customers are saying
We are very thankful that our customers are willing to share their experiences with AcquaStain. Below are some results and opinions we’ve received over the years.

“It works very well. It enabled some mass spectrometry experiments where we needed the sensitivity of silver staining but needed something compatible with mass spec. It was perfect for it.”
–Chad, 2017
Ohio State University

Product Comparison

PRODUCT	NO PREWASH	NO DESTAIN	# OF STEPS	TOTAL TIME	SAFE DISPOSAL	CONC. LINEARITY
AcquaStain Protein Gel Stain			1	10 min		R2=0.98
Bio-Safe Coomassie Stain			3	60-120 min		R2=0.71
EZBlue Gel Stain			3	120-360 min		R2=0.91
Gelcode Safe Blue Protein Stain			4	90-360+ min		R2=0.98
Simply Blue SafeStain			3	360-420 min		R2=0.92

Additional Information