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Cat. No.: HGR-0.2 (for 0.2ml)

Cat. No.: HGR-1 (for 1ml)

Description

Gel-Red is an upgraded alternative to Ethidium Bromide (EB), and it serves as a nucleic acid stain for DNA and RNA in gel electrophoresis. Gel-Red offers advantages such as safety (extremely low mutagenicity and no significant cytotoxicity), high sensitivity, and excellent stability. After staining with Gel-Red, nucleic acids in the gel exhibit red fluorescence when illuminated with an appropriate ultraviolet lamp (around 300nm wavelength). This makes Gel-Red suitable for gel imaging systems that previously used EB as a staining agent.

Features

• Gel-Red is safer than both EB and SYBR Green. Gel-Red exhibits no cytotoxicity or mutagenicity even at concentrations far above its working range. Ames test results indicate that Gel-Red has significantly lower mutagenicity compared to EB. EB shows strong mutagenicity in various mutagenicity tests, while Gel-Red exhibits very weak mutagenicity only at concentrations as high as 20 micrograms/milliliter and in the presence of S9 metabolic activation. Typically, Gel-Red's working concentration in gels is around 2 micrograms/milliliter, much lower than concentrations that could induce mutagenesis. Gel-Red possesses a unique chemical structure that makes it difficult to enter cells, thereby reducing or avoiding mutagenicity and cytotoxicity. In contrast, SYBR Green can penetrate cell membranes, enter live cells, and stain DNA, with reports suggesting that SYBR Green can strongly enhance ultraviolet-induced gene mutations.
• Gel-Red demonstrates high detection sensitivity and performs well in staining low molecular weight nucleic acids. Gel-Red's detection sensitivity is 8-10 times higher than that of EB, making it superior for detecting low concentrations or trace amounts of DNA or RNA, especially for sensitive detection of small molecular weight DNA. When using the soaking staining method, Gel-Red exhibits similar or even higher sensitivity than SYBR Gold. Unlike SYBR Gold, Gel-Red also maintains high sensitivity when pre-mixed in the gel. EB has poor staining efficacy for low molecular weight nucleic acids, whereas Gel-Red is effective, facilitating the observation of enzymatically cut or PCR-generated small nucleic acid fragments. The recommended concentration of Gel-Red yields slightly better results than EB, and increasing Gel-Red's working concentration can enhance staining sensitivity.
• Gel-Red boasts excellent stability and high staining reproducibility. The reproducibility of nucleic acid staining gels containing SYBR Green is often compromised due to the poor stability of SYBR series dyes. In contrast, Gel-Red exhibits remarkable stability and can be stored at room temperature for extended periods or heated in a microwave. Gel-Red's photostability allows for operation under normal indoor lighting without the need to avoid light. The combination of thermal and photostability ensures excellent reproducibility when using Gel-Red for nucleic acid staining.
• Gel-Red can be used in the same detection system as EB. The excitation and emission spectra of Gel-Red are very close to those of EB, allowing Gel-Red to directly replace EB without the need to change existing gel observation, photography, or imaging systems (approximately 300nm excitation).
• The usage of Gel-Red is consistent with EB. Gel-Red can be directly added to agarose in an appropriate ratio for gel preparation, or it can be used to stain the gel after electrophoresis. The former method is more convenient, while the latter offers slightly higher sensitivity. However, due to Gel-Red's inherent high sensitivity, it is often sufficient to directly prepare the gel with Gel-Red. In specific cases, such as when dealing with very small amounts of nucleic acid samples, post-electrophoresis staining of the gel can be considered.
• Gel-Red has minimal impact on the mobility of nucleic acids, even less than the impact of SYBR Green on nucleic acid mobility.

Storage

Store at room temperature, valid for at least two years.

Notes

• Prepared Gel-Red agarose gels can typically be stored for 3-5 days at 4°C under light-avoiding conditions. When re-melting a Gel-Red agarose gel for reuse, it is advisable to add an appropriate amount of Gel-Red for better observation results. Reusing gels after electrophoresis is not recommended. Gel-Red-stained gels after electrophoresis usually do not require destaining. If the background is too high, destaining can be performed using water without nucleases.
• Gel-Red and Gel-Green can stain not only double-stranded DNA but also single-stranded DNA and RNA. The sensitivity of Gel-Red for staining single-stranded nucleic acids is approximately half that for double-stranded DNA, while the sensitivity of Gel-Red for single-stranded nucleic acids is approximately five times that of Gel-Green.
• For polyacrylamide gels, it is recommended to use the soak staining method and extend the staining time to 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• If band smearing or poor separation is observed, it is suggested to use the soak staining method to determine if it is related to the dye. If similar issues persist after soaking staining, it indicates a non-dye-related problem. In such cases, try the following: use freshly prepared electrophoresis buffer, reduce the amount of nucleic acid loaded, lower the dye concentration, decrease agarose concentration, use a longer gel, reduce the electrophoresis voltage by more than half and extend the gel electrophoresis time to improve results, or use a thinner comb.
• This product is compatible with common electrophoresis buffers such as TAE and TBE. Gel-Red is not classified as a toxic or hazardous substance, has passed relevant environmental safety tests, and does not require special handling of waste. It can be disposed of following conventional chemical reagent procedures.
• This product is intended for scientific research by professionals only and should not be used for clinical diagnosis or treatment, food, or drugs. It should not be stored in ordinary residences. For your safety and health, please wear lab attire and disposable gloves during operation.

Only for research and not intended for treatment of humans or animals

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