Coomassie Stains

Coomassie blue dyes are a family of dyes commonly used to stain proteins in SDS-PAGE gels. The gels are soaked in dye, and excess stain is then eluted with a solvent ("destaining"). This treatment allows the visualization of proteins as blue bands on a clear background. Bio-Rad offers Coomassie stains in four formats.

QC Colloidal Coomassie (161-0803) — the newest in the family of Bio-Rad Coomassie stains, QC Colloidal Coomassie G-250 allows for flexible staining and destaining times and does not require use of methanol for fixing.

• Low background, high sensitivity, superior reproducibility
• Environmentally friendly formulation — no addition of methanol or acetic acid required; eliminates the need for hazardous waste disposal
• Flexible staining and destaining times — from 1 hour to overnight
• No alcohol addition or dilution steps when staining polyacrylamide gels
• One-part, ready-to-use colloidal Coomassie stain

Bio-Safe™ Coomassie (161-0786) — Bio-Safe Coomassie Brilliant Blue G-250 stain is fast, simple, sensitive, and convenient.

• Premixed, ready-to-use, nonhazardous solution
• No methanol or acetic acid required for destaining
• Bio-Safe composition reduces solvent waste disposal costs

Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 (161-0436) — Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 staining solution is the fastest and easiest way to Coomassie-stain Criterion™ precast gels or other polyacrylamide protein gels.

• See also: Ready-to-use Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 staining and destaining solutions (161-0435)

Coomassie Reagents — Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 and G-250 powders are available in 10 gram vials.

• Coomassie G-250 (161-0406) is more sensitive
• Coomassie R-250 (161-0400) provides better resolution and lower cost