Preparative separation of poliovirus structural polypeptides by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, copper staining and electroelution, and induction of monospecific antisera.

Viral polypeptides were prepared by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) followed by copper staining and electroelution from gel slices. Poliovirus capsid polypeptide VP 1 isolated by this procedure induced monospecific antibodies in rabbits, i.e., antisera reacting only with the homologous polypeptide. Our results demonstrate the applicability of the described copper staining method as a rapid visualization step for preparing viral proteins after SDS-PAGE.