Drimarene brilliant blue--a better pre-stain in protein separation and visualization

Prestaining of human serum proteins with a new reactive dye Drimarene Brilliant Blue (DBB), was standardized employing 940 separations and examining 30 variables. Under the critical condition, the serum and the soluble dye (0.1 g/100 ml in working Tris-glycine buffer, pH, 8.3), was mixed in equal proportion, conjugate warmed at 40 degrees C for 2 hr and a 30 microliter of the sample electrophoresed by disc electrophoresis. The method when compared with prestaining by Remazol Brilliant Blue (RBB) and postelectrophoretic staining by Amido Black (AB) in 50 normal sera, revealed that the discs stained with DBB were intense and well defined and appeared in 2 hr on a sparkingly clear gel. Quality of resolution was better than RBB and AB. Protein bands eluted from the DBB prestained gels retained their immunoreactivity. The dye-protein complex of albumin and transferrin produced high-titre monospecific antisera in rabbits.