Demonstration and elimination of artifacts associated with gold staining of proteins on nitrocellulose membranes after separation by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Artifacts associated with gold staining of polypeptides separated by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transferred to nitrocellulose are eliminated by alkylation of reduced samples or by deletion of the reducing agent.