Highlights:

• Develops intensely colored complexes with proteins
• Can determine as little as 0.5 µg/cm² of protein present in a gel matrix
• Anion of Coomassie Brilliant Blue formed in the acidic staining medium combines with the protonated amino groups of proteins by electrostatic interaction; resulting complex is reversible under the proper conditions
• When dissolved in 0.01 M citrate buffer at pH 3.0, has an absorption maximum at 555 nm; protein-dye complex is characterized by a peak slightly broader than that of the free dye with a maximum at 549 nm

References:

1. Syrovy, L. and Hodny, Z. (1991). Staining and quantification of proteins separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. J. Chromatog. 569, 175-196.