Staining RNA Following Electrophoresis Perform electrophoresis on nondenaturing gels or on denaturing urea/polyacrylamide or formaldehyde/agarose gels according to standard techniques. For nondenaturing gels and denaturing urea/polyacrylamide gels, a 1:10,000 dilution in TBE (pH =8) is recommed. For denaturing formaldehyde/agarose gels, a 1:5000 dilution in TBE is recommed. For optimal sensitivity, the pH of the staining solution used for staining is between 7.5 and 8.0 (preferably pH 8.0).Place the gel in a staining container, and add enough staining solution to cover the gel. Protect the staining container from light . Shake the gel gently at room temperature. The staining time is typically 10–40 minutes for polyacrylamide gels and 20–40 minutes for agarose gels. Illuminate the stained gel using 300 nm ultraviolet transillumination, or for greater sensitivity, 254 nm epi-illumination. Photograph the gel with Polaroid 667 black-and-white print film using a SYBR Green gel stain photographic filter.