Coating of proteins to polystyrene ELISA plates in the presence of detergents.

The influence of several detergents on protein coating of polystyrene plates has been investigated. At concentrations equal to or higher than their respective critical micelle concentration (CMC) all detergents prevent attachment of proteins to polystyrene. However, coating of proteins on polystyrene plates can be achieved in the presence of detergents at concentrations 10-100 times lower than their CMC values. There is a strong correlation between the CMC and the detergent concentration inhibiting protein binding to polystyrene by 50%. The rank correlation coefficient for the binding of thyroid plasma membrane antigens was 0.97 (P less than 0.01). The influence of a detergent on the efficiency of protein coating of plastic surfaces also depends to some extent on protein-detergent interactions. Attachment of small hydrophilic proteins such as human IgG is more strongly inhibited by detergents than is the coating of hydrophobic thyroid plasma membrane antigens or thyroglobulin. Some detergents do not interfere with protein attachment to plastics and permit subsequent ELISA assays for hydrophobic, detergent solubilized plasma membrane proteins.