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GELRED™ & GELGREEN™ NUCLEIC ACID GEL STAINS: Safer Ethidium Bromide Alternatives

GelRed™ and GelGreen™ are a new generation of fluorescent DNA stains designed to replace the highly toxic ethidium bromide (EtBr).

A number of ethidium bromide alternatives are marketed as being safe. In fact, many so-called “safe” gel stains contain dyes that are well known to bind DNA in living cells, with cytotoxic effects.

GelRed and GelGreen gel stains are safer because they cannot penetrate cell membranes to bind DNA in living cells. HeLa cells were incubated at 37°C with 1X SYBR Safe, GelGreen or GelRed, respectively. Images were taken following incubation with dye for 30 min. The top row shows phase contrast images of the field of cells, the bottom row shows green fluorescence for SYBR Safe and GelGreen and red fluorescence for GelRed. SYBR Safe rapidly entered cells and stained nuclei. GelRed and GelGreen were unable to cross cell membranes, demonstrated by the absence of fluorescence staining.

GelRed™ and GelGreen™ are designed to be nontoxic and nonmutagenic by virtue of being cell membrane impermeable, so they cannot enter living cells. 

 Comparison of mutagenicity

GelGreen™ are superior to EtBr and other ethidium bromide alternatives by having a combination of low toxicity, high sensitivity and exceptional stability.

Download the paper on Comparison of Nucleic Acid Gel Stains: Cell permeability, safety, and sensitivity of ethidium bromide alternatives.

 

GelRed™ Is Superior to EtBr

Comparison of ethidium bromide (EtBr) and GelRed in precast gel staining using 1% agarose gel in TBE buffer. Two-fold serial dilutions of 1 kb Plus DNA Ladder (Invitrogen) were loaded in the amounts of 200 ng, 100 ng, 50 ng and 25 ng from left to right. Gels were imaged using 300 nm transilluminator and photographed with an EtBr filter.
Comparison of ethidium bromide (EtBr) and GelRed in precast gel staining using 1% agarose gel in TBE buffer. Two-fold serial dilutions of 1 kb Plus DNA Ladder (Invitrogen) were loaded in the amounts of 200 ng, 100 ng, 50 ng and 25 ng from left to right. Gels were imaged using 300 nm transilluminator and photographed with an EtBr filter.

GelGreen™ Is Unmatched by SYBR® Safe

Comparison of GelGreen and SYBR Safe in post-electrophoresis staining of 1% agarose/TBE gels. Two-fold serial dilutions (200 ng, 100 ng, 50 ng and 25 ng) of 1 kb Plus DNA Ladder (Invitrogen). Gels were imaged using 254-nm UV transilluminator and photographed with a SYBR filter.Comparison of GelGreen and SYBR Safe in post-electrophoresis staining of 1% agarose/TBE gels. Two-fold serial dilutions (200 ng, 100 ng, 50 ng and 25 ng) of 1 kb Plus DNA Ladder (Invitrogen). Gels were imaged using 254-nm UV transilluminator and photographed with a SYBR filter.
 

ADVANTAGES:

  • Ultra-sensitive (Much more sensitive than EtBr and SYBR® Safe)
  • Safer than EtBr (Shown by Ames test and other tests to be nonmutagenic and noncytotoxic)
  • Easy disposal (Passed environmental safety tests for disposal down the drain or in regular trash)
  • Flexible for different procedures (Use in either precast or post electrophoresis gel staining, compatible with common downstream applications like cloning and sequencing)
  • Extremely stable (Stable at room temperature for long-term storage)
  • Broad instrument compatibility (GelRed™ can be imaged on a UV transilluminator using EtBr settings. GelGreen™ can be imaged on a UV transilluminator or blue light source using SYBR® dye settings)
-->New! DNazure™ Blue DNA Gel Stain for ultra-sensitive and visible staining of DNA in agarose gels

 

 

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