Coomassie brilliant blue R-250: Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 has been used for many years for staining proteins on polyacrylamide electrophoresis gels. Improvement of sensitivity and background have been accomplished using Coomassie Brilliant Blue dyes in a colloidal form. The Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-Protein complex has an absorption maximum between 560 and 575 nm. (Scanning is usually done at 570 nm.) The staining intensity of proteins may be related to the basicity of the protein involved. Other applications for Coomassie Brilliant Blue R include use in detection of lipids in thin layer chromatography, determination of the CMC of detergents, and detection of proteins in solution, as well as on cellulose acetate plates