1. The Bradford assay is relatively free from interference by most commonly used biochemical reagents. However, a few chemicals may significantly alter the absorbance of the reagent blank or modify the response of proteins to the dye (Table 1) . The materials that are most likely to cause problems in biological extracts are detergents and ampholytes (3,8). These can be removed from the sample solution by gel filtration, dialysis, or precipitation of protein with calcium phosphate (9,10). Alternatively, they can be included in the reagent blank and calibration standards at the same concentration as that found in the sample. The presence of base in the assay increases absorbance by shifting the equilibrium of the free dye toward the anionic form. This may present problems when measuring protein content in concentrated basic buffers (3). Guanidine hydrochloride and sodium ascorbate compete with dye for protein, leading to underestimation of the protein content (3).
2. Binding of protein to Coomassie Blue G250 may shift the absorbance maximum of the blue ionic form of the dye from 590 nm to 620 nm (2). It might, therefore, appear more sensible to measure the absorbance at the higher wavelength. However, at the usual pH of the assay, an appreciable proportion of the dye is in the green form (λmax = 650 nm) which interferes with absorbance measurement of the dye–protein complex at 620 nm. Measurement at 595 nm represents the best compromise between maximizing the absorbence due to the dye–protein complex while minimizing that due to the green form of the free dye (2–4; but see also Note 9).