Why GelRed®?
GelRed®: A Superior Alternative to EtBr
GelRed® is much more sensitive than EtBr, and can be used to stain dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels via either precast or post gel staining without destaining. GelRed® can also be used to stain polyacrylamide gels via post gel staining is also compatible with downstream DNA manipulations such as restriction digest, sequencing, and cloning.
GelRed® and EtBr have virtually the same spectra, so you can directly replace EtBr with GelRed® without changing your existing imaging system. Detailed protocols are available for each product along with the GelRed Product Information Sheet
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| GelRed® | EtBr |
GelRed® and GelGreen® are more sensitive than EtBr and SYBR® Safe. Pictures show a comparison of GelRed® and ethidium bromide (EtBr) in precast gel staining
Non-Mutagenic and Safer for the Environment
A series of safety tests have confirmed that GelRed® is noncytotoxic, nonmutagenic, and nonhazardous at concentrations well above the working concentrations used in gel staining. As a result, working strength GelRed® can be safely disposed of down the drain or in the rubbish, providing convenience and reducing cost in waste disposal.
For detailed test results, you may download the GelRed®/GelGreen® Safety Reports under each available product.
How Safe is Your Gel Stain?
Many so-called “safe” DNA dyes like SYBR® Safe, Midori Green, GreenSafe, SafeView™, and RedSafe™ not only have low sensitivity, but also readily penetrate living cells to bind DNA, and some are cytotoxic. Unlike these dyes, GelRed® is cell membrane-impermeant, so it cannot enter living cells to interact with their DNA. See our Gel Stains Comparison white paper for details.
Choose the Right Stain for Your Application
GelRed® 3X in water (catalog no. 41001) is ready-to-use for post-electrophoresis gel staining and is supplied in a 4L Cubitainer®. Biotium also offers GelRed® 10,000X in water (catalog no. 41003) and GelRed® 10,000X in DMSO (catalog no. 41002). GelRed® in water is a newer, safer formulation and our recommended format. We continue to offer GelRed® in DMSO for established users who do not wish to alter their protocols. We also offer GelRed® Agarose and GelRed® Prestain Plus 6X Loading Dye.
Also see GelGreen® Nucleic Acid Gel Stain, a safer replacement for SYBR® gel stains, which is compatible with visible light excitation.
For more information, view our Biotium products stain comparison
GelRed® and its uses are covered by granted and/or pending US and International patents. GelRed and EvaGreen are registered trademarks of Biotium, Inc. SafeView is a trademark of Applied Biological Materials; RedSafe is a trademark of iNtRON Biotechnology. SYBR is a registered trademark of Thermo Fisher Scientific. Cubitainer is a registered trademark of Hedwin Corporation.
Phase Contrast
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| SYBR® Safe | GelRed® | GelGreen® |
Fluorescence
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| SYBR® Safe | GelRed® | GelGreen® |
GelRed® and GelGreen® gel stains are safer because they cannot penetrate cell membranes to bind DNA in living cells. HeLa cells were incubated with 1X SYBR® Safe, GelGreen® or GelRed®, respectively. Images were taken following incubation with dye for 30 min using FITC filter set for SYBR® Safe and GelGreen®, and Cy®3 filter set 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.
If these FAQ’s have not answered your question, contact us.