A method for the long-term preservation of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

A new, reversible method for drying polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is reported. It was studied using proteins from the B17, B20, B21 and ATCC 8014 strains of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from the brine of table olives. After electrophoretic analysis, the gels were dehydrated in a 95% ethyl alcohol solution and stored either long-term or for a few days, renatured and then subjected to analyses that included combination staining with Coomassie brilliant blue and silver, and western blotting. The immunological tests and electrophoresis performed with the enzymes β-glucosidase, alkaline phosphatase and peroxidase demonstrated that repeated dehydration and renaturation of the polyacrylamide gels does not denature the proteins. The method is simple to perform, inexpensive and does not require special equipment.