title: Double staining of coomassie blue-stained polyacrylamide gels by imidazole-sodium dodecyl sulfate-zinc reverse staining: sensitive detection of coomassie blue-undetected proteins.
abstract: The sensitivity, simplicity, and relative rapidity of Coomassie blue staining have made this technique the method of choice for routine detection and quantitative analysis of gel electrophoresis-separated protein bands in many applications. To extend the usefulness of this technique, we have developed a new double-staining method for visualizing SDS-PAGE-separated protein bands that were undetected by Coomassie blue staining of the gel. Coomassie blue-stained gels are washed in distilled water (15 min, two times) and then subjected to imidazole-zinc reverse staining. As a result of the method, a homogeneous white-stained background is generated and two types of protein bands can be observed: (a) typical Coomassie blue-stained bands, which appear superposed on larger transparent bands; and (b) reverse-stained (transparent) bands, which were previously undetected by the Coomassie blue staining. The method is rapid, simple, and reproducible and double-staining gels can be kept in distilled water for months without loss of the protein pattern. The overall sensitivity is high (e.g., 1.6 ng for recombinant streptokinase, 47 kDa) over a wide range of protein molecular weights (10 to 100 kDa) and independent of the degree of Coomassie blue destaining of the gel. Furthermore, a mechanism offering a consistent explanation for the role of imidazole, SDS, and zinc in the reverse staining of gels, particularly after Coomassie blue staining is proposed.
authors.affiliation: Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, La Habana, Cuba.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Patron
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sosa
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seoane
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Castellanos
mesh_terms: D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D007093:Imidazoles; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D012394:Rosaniline Dyes; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D015032:Zinc
chemical_list: D007093:Imidazoles; D011506:Proteins; D012394:Rosaniline Dyes; D012967:Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate; C048139:Coomassie blue; C029899:imidazole; D015032:Zinc