1. Wear gloves, rinse gloves and glasswares with ddH₂O.

2. Soak the polyamcriamide gel in 50% methanol (> 1 hour).

3. Change to fresh 50% methanol and leave for 1 hour.

4. Make fresh stain solution. Add 1.4 ml Ammonium hydroxide (use the fresh, frozen stock aliquot in the -20 °C freezer), 0.185 ml 10 M NaOH, 4.0 ml 20% (w/v) AgNO3 (add dropwise), and ddH₂O to 100 ml.

5. Rinse the gel with ddH₂O.

6. Add the staining solution. Agitate for 10 minutes at room temperature.

7. Discard the staining solution and rinse the gel with ddH₂O.

8. Soak for 5 minutes in fresh ddH₂O.

9. Rinse again briefly in ddH₂O.

10. Add developer solution (0.01% (w/v) citric acid (1% w/v), 0.038% formaldehyde) and agitate for 2 to 10 minutes.

11. When the gel achieves the desired state of staining, stop with 50% methanol/10% acetic acid.

12. Store the gel in 50% methanol/10% acetic acid.