An Eye for a Dye
Nucleic Acid Dyes and Stains DNA molecular weight markers stained with Molecular Probes' SYBR Green I Researchers working with DNA often have two fundamental questions: "How much DNA have I got?" and "What size is it?" Large quantities of DNA can be visualized even without staining or special illumination: The schlieren lines--refractive index changes at the boundaries of concentration differences--reveal the positions of the bands. However, this method is impractical for most applications. For
Apr 16, 2000
![]() DNA molecular weight markers stained with Molecular Probes' SYBR Green I |
Ethidium bromide (2,7-diamino-10-ethyl-9-phenylphenanthridinium bromide; EtBr) has traditionally been used for staining DNA and RNA in gels (and here) following procedures first published in the early 1970s.1 While the procedures for using EtBr are simple, EtBr is fairly toxic. The material safety data sheet (MSDS) on EtBr does not explicitly list...
Interested in reading more?
Become a Member of
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member?