Copper iodide staining and determination of proteins adsorbed to microtiter plates

Copper iodide staining and determination of proteins adsorbed to polystyrene microtiter plates are described. The minimum amount of copper iodide-stained protein detected in densitometric measurements is approximately 20 pg/mm2. Enzyme immunoassay readers may also be used for the determination of copper iodide-stained proteins, but are less sensitive than densitometers. The densitometric readings of copper iodide-stained proteins vary linearly with the amount of protein present as verified by enzymatic and radioactive probes. Staining is complete in 2-3 min and may be removed by a 30-min treatment with EDTA without loss of adsorbed protein or immunoreactivity. The exact amount of protein adsorbed to microtiter plate wells can be measured by using protein bound and stained on nitrocellulose as a calibration curve. Copper iodide staining is a rapid, convenient, and inexpensive alternative to radioactive measurements of similar parameters.