GELRED® & GELGREEN®
How Safe is Your Gel Stain?
A number of ethidium bromide (EtBr) 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® are highly sensitive gel stains designed to be nontoxic and nonmutagenic by virtue of being cell membrane impermeable, so they cannot enter living cells. Download our white paper to learn more.
GelRed® and GelGreen®
Safer alternatives to EtBr, SYBR® Safe, and others
EtBr has been the predominant dye used for nucleic acid staining for decades because of its low price and generally sufficient sensitivity. However, EtBr is a highly mutagenic material. The safety hazard and costs associated with decontamination and waste disposal can ultimately make the nucleic acid dye expensive to use. The dye experts at Biotium developed the extremely popular GelRed® and GelGreen® fluorescent agarose gel stains to not only be the most sensitive DNA gel stains on the market, but also the safest: they are the only DNA gel stains that have been tested and found to be safe and non-toxic by independent laboratories. To learn more, visit the GelRed® and GelGreen® technology page.
Click here to download an App Note on using GelRed® and GelGreen® on the UVP GelDoc-It® imaging system. Click here to download an App Note on using GelGreen® on the UVP GelDoc-It® imaging system with the Visi-Blue™ Converter Plate.
GelRed® and GelGreen® stains are also available pre-coated to ultra-pure LE agarose. Using GelRed® Agarose & GelGreen® Agarose is easy and convenient, and obviates the need to handle concentrated fluorescent dye.
GelRed® Features:
- Visualized with UV transilluminators using ethidium bromide detection settings
- Most sensitive fluorescent red DNA gel stain
- Safer and more environmentally friendly than EtBr, as well as other so-called “safe” gel stains
- Can be used as a post-stain, or precast in agarose
- Available as a 10,000X stock, ready-to-use 3X solution, and in 6X loading buffer format
GelGreen® Features:
- Visualized with blue light boxes or UV light box using SYBR® green detection settings
- More sensitive than SYBR® Safe
- Safer for users and the environment than SYBR® Safe and other so-called “safe” gel stains
- Can be used as a post-stain, or precast in agarose
- Available in a concentrated 10,000X stock
| Product Name | Catalog Number | Size |
|---|---|---|
| GelRed® 10,000X in water | 41003-T | 0.1 mL (Trial Size) |
| 41003 | 0.5 mL | |
| 41003-1 | 10 mL | |
| GelGreen® 10,000X in water | 41005 | 0.5 mL |
| 41005-1 | 10 mL | |
| GelRed® 3X in water | 41001 | 4 L |
| 6X GelRed® Prestain Loading Buffer, Blue Tracking Dye | 41009 | 1 mL |
| 6X GelRed® Prestain Loading Buffer, Orange Tracking Dye | 41010 | 1 mL |
| GelRed® Prestain Plus 6X DNA Loading Dye | 41011 | 1 mL |
| GelRed® Agarose LE | 41029-5G | 5 g |
| 41029-50G | 50 g | |
| GelGreen® Agarose LE | 41030-5G | 5 g |
| 41030-50G | 50 g |
PAGE GELRED® FOR ACRYLAMIDE GELS
PAGE GelRed® is a version of our popular GelRed® dye that was specially formulated for staining DNA in polyacrylamide gels. Like the classic GelRed®, PAGE GelRed® has also been found to be safe by independent laboratories.
Download the PAGE GelRed® Safety Report.
PAGE GelRed® Features:
- Visualized with UV transilluminators using ethidium bromide detection settings
- Formulated for efficient penetration and staining of polyacrylamide gels
- Proven safe and environmentally friendly
- Compatible with downstream cloning applications
| Product Name | Catalog Number | Size |
|---|---|---|
| PAGE GelRed® 10,000X in Water | 41008-T | 0.1 mL |
| PAGE GelRed® 10,000X in Water | 41008-500uL | 500 uL |
| PAGE GelRed® 1X in Water | 41014 | 4 L |
Choose the Right Stain for Your Application
| Product / Method | Procedure | Advantages | Disadvantages | Recommended for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNA prestaining with GelRed® Prestain Plus 6X DNA Loading Dye | GelRed® loading buffer is added directly to the DNA sample before loading | • Fast & simple: one-step sample loading & DNA staining • Less concentrated dye for safer handling • Can re-run a gel to use empty lanes | • Not recommended for PAGE, DGGE, EMSA, or PFGE gels • Dye may cause band migration issues when loading larger amounts of DNA (more than ~100 ng/band), or for some restriction digests | • Routine agarose gels • Recommended loading 50-200 ng ladder or 2-5 uL PCR product ( ~100 ng/band or less) |
| Precast staining with GelRed® 10,000X in water or GelGreen® 10,000X in water | GelRed® or GelGreen® is mixed with molten agarose before gel casting | Familiar protocol, rapid results | ||
| Precast staining with GelRed® Agarose LE or GelGreen® Agarose LE | Agarose is supplied pre-coated with GelRed® or GelGreen®, just dissolve, heat, and pour | Safer & more convenient, no need to handle concentrated dye | ||
| Post-electrophoresis staining with GelRed® 10,000X in water or GelGreen® 10,000X in water – or – GelRed® 3X in water | No fluorescent dye is added to the gel, it is stained in 3X GelRed® or 3X GelGreen® solution after electrophoresis | • Most accurate sizing/sharpest bands • Staining solution can be re-used • Enhance sensitivity by adding NaCl | Extra staining step (up to 30 minutes) after electrophoresis (some customers report good results after only 5 minutes if dye is not reused) | • Highly accurate band sizing • Gels with more than ~100 ng DNA per band • Analyzing restriction digests |
| Post-electrophoresis staining of PAGE gels using PAGE GelRed® 10,000X or 1X in water | No fluorescent dye is added to the gel, it is stained in 1X PAGE GelRed® solution after electrophoresis | • Formulated for efficient penetration and staining of polyacrylamide gels • Like the classic GelRed®, it is safe and environmentally friendly | Extra staining step of approx. 30 minutes after electrophoresis | Staining of nucleic acids in PAGE gels |
DNAZURE® VISIBLE DNA GEL STAIN
As Biotium continues to innovate in gel staining, we now offer a truly unique visible DNA gel stain called DNAzure®. DNAzure® dye binds to DNA in an agarose gel, and after exposure to light develops visible blue bands. The blue staining is long-lasting and doesn’t require any further light source, making it ideal for cutting out bands (no worry about UV light damaging your DNA sample or your eyes). Even more amazing is that this visible stain is more sensitive than more fluorescent DNA gel stains.
DNAzure® Features:
- Deep blue bands visible by the naked eye following 5-30 min light exposure
- Ultrasensitive detection, as little as ~1 ng DNA
- Simplified DNA band excision, without the need for DNA damaging UV light
- Expensive gel documentation systems not required for imaging
- Compatible with downstream cloning applications
- Bands are stable for weeks after color development
- Also detectable on near-infrared scanners
| Product Name | Catalog Number | Size |
|---|---|---|
| DNAzure® Blue Nucleic Acid Gel Stain | 41020 | 10 mL |
EMBER500™ RNA PRESTAIN LOADING DYE
Still staining RNA using ethidium bromide?
Staining RNA with ethidium bromide (EtBr) requires a significant amount of the dye yet still offers very limited sensitivity for RNA when prestaining or post-staining gels. EMBER500™ was developed by Biotium scientists to offer much brighter signal and higher sensitivity than EtBr for RNA gel staining. For maximum convenience, EMBER500™ RNA Prestain Loading Dye includes formamide as well as electrophoresis tracking dyes, allowing sample denaturing, loading, tracking, and staining in a single step. The prestain is supplied as a 2X concentration, for convenient loading of sample and dye in equal volumes.
Features and benefits of EMBER500™
- Sensitive: Brighter and much more sensitive than EtBr
- Convenient: Denature, load, track and stain RNA samples in a single step on a regular agarose gel
- Versatile: Stains both DNA and RNA for evaluating total RNA integrity and DNA contamination
- Flexible Detection: Detect with UV transilluminators or blue LED gel imagers
Free Samples Available!
For a limited time, Biotium is offering free samples of EMBER500™ RNA Prestain. Click the button below and fill out the form. Be sure to select EMBER500™ RNA Prestain Loading Dye 100 uL (#41032-F) under “Select a Sample” before submitting.
See the Difference
EMBER500™ RNA Prestain Loading Dye
| Product Name | Catalog Number | Size |
|---|---|---|
| EMBER500™ RNA Prestain Loading Dye | 41032 | 4 x 1 mL |
| EMBER500™ RNA Prestain Loading Dye | 41032-250uL | 250 uL |
Classic Gel Stains
Biotium offers several classic nucleic acid gel stains. Oxazole Gold (also known as SYBR® Gold) is a UV-excitable nucleic acid binding dye and is considered the most sensitive fluorescent DNA/RNA gel stain. Oxazole Gold is particularly useful for staining RNA and single-stranded oligos (see figure on right).
Thiazole Green (also known as SYBR® Green) is excitable by UV or blue light and may also be used for detection of DNA or RNA in agarose or polyacrylamide gels.
Ethidium bromide (EtBr) is widely used as a UV-excitable DNA gel stain and is a known mutagen.
| Product Name | Catalog Number | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Thiazole Green (SYBR® Green I), 10,000X in DMSO | 40086-0.5mL | 500 uL |
| 40086-1mL | 1 mL | |
| Oxazole Gold (SYBR® Gold), 10,000X in DMSO | 40094 | 500 uL |
| Ethidium Bromide, 10 mg/mL in H2O | 40042 | 10 mL |
Associated products
GelRed® Nucleic Acid Gel Stain
41001, 41002, 41003, 41002-1, 41003-1, - 41003-TView allHide
PAGE GelRed® Nucleic Acid Gel Stain
41014, 41008-500uL, - 41008-TView allHide
GelGreen® Nucleic Acid Gel Stain
41004, 41005, 41005-1, - 41005-TView allHide
DNAzure® Blue Nucleic Acid Gel Stain, 100X
GelRed® Agarose LE
41029-5G, - 41029-50GView allHide
GelGreen® Agarose LE
41030-5G, - 41030-50GView allHide