Stains-All is a cationic carbocyanine dye.
Almost all of the proteins found in skeletal muscle extracts, including the Ca2++Mg2+-ATPase and the 53,000-Da glycoprotein of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, are stained red or pink with Stains-all. Calsequestrin, the 1 60,000-Da glycoprotein, and 170,000-Da protein are stained blue with Stains-all. The ratio of Stains-all staining (measured at 615 nm) to that of Coomassie blue staining (measured at 575 nm) is 1.3 for calsequestrin, 2.0 for calmodulin, 1.4 for troponin C, and 2.2 for S-100. Therefore, in addition to differentially staining these Ca2+-binding proteins blue, Stains-all is a more sensitive stain for these Ca2+-binding proteins than is Coomassie blue[1].
[1]. Campbell KP, et al. Staining of the Ca2+-binding proteins, calsequestrin, calmodulin, troponin C, and S-100, with the cationic carbocyanine dye "Stains-all". J Biol Chem. 1983 Sep 25;258(18):11267-73.