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PRODUCTS FOR EDUCATION

User-friendly, cost-effective, and safer for student experiments.

Designed to meet the needs of education and academia, our extensive range of technologies and products focuses on safety, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and precision in results.

Explore safer, brighter, and more sensitive DNA stains
Safer and more sensitive with brighter results.
Faster, easier, and safer than Coomassie blue staining.
Includes 2-color tracking for avoiding costly pipetting mistakes

Prioritize safety in your DNA Gel Electrophoresis

GelRed® & GelGreen® are safer, sensitive, and economical.

Although ethidium bromide (EtBr) has been the predominant dye for nucleic acid staining, its low sensitivity and high mutagenic properties make it suboptimal for research or for educational laboratories. In contrast, our nontoxic GelRed® and GelGreen® fluorescent agarose gel stains are sensitive and significantly safer alternatives for DNA gel staining.

To learn more, visit the GelRed® and GelGreen® technology page.

Prepare precast gels more safely with ultrapure molecular biology grade agarose pre-coated in our GelRed® and GelGreen®.

Our GelGreen® and GelRed® Agarose LE offer an ultra-pure molecular biology grade agarose that comes pre-coated with either GelGreen® Nucleic Acid Gel Stain or GelRed® Nucleic Acid Gel Stain, ensuring maximum safety and ease of use, especially for beginners and students. The dye already incorporated into the agarose eliminates the need to handle concentrated fluorescent dye solutions, significantly enhancing safety measures. These pre-coated agarose formats can be used with TAE or TBE buffers for gel concentrations ranging from 0.8% to 2%.

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GelRed® Agarose LE
GelGreen® Agarose LE

GelRed® & GelGreen® do not readily penetrate living cells.

HeLa cells were incubated for 30 minutes at 37°C with 1X SYBR® Safe, GelRed®, or GelGreen®. SYBR® Safe rapidly bound to DNA in live cells resulting in bright green nuclear staining. GelRed® and GelGreen® were unable to bind DNA in live cells, shown by the absence of fluorescence.

Click here to view the Safety Report for GelRed® and GelGreen®.

GelRed® Prestain Plus 6X DNA Loading Dye

Our GelRed® Prestain Plus 6X DNA Loading Dye simplifies gel electrophoresis with its one-step loading and staining process. Featuring two visible blue tracking dyes for reference and an improved formulation to minimize DNA migration shifts, this convenient format eliminates the need to add dye separately to agarose gels while ensuring consistent and reliable results.

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GelRed® Prestain Plus 6X DNA Loading Dye

GelRed® Features:

  • Visualized with UV light boxes and the safer Gel-Bright™ Imager 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 pre-cast, as a post-stain, or in precoated agarose
  • Available as a 10,000X stock, ready-to-use 3X solution, in 6X loading buffer, and pre-coated agarose formats

GelGreen® Features:

  • Visualized with blue light boxes or UV light box using SYBR® green detection settings
  • More sensitive than SYBR® Safe
  • Safer for users & the environment than SYBR® Safe & other so-called “safe” gel stains
  • Can be used pre-cast, as a post-stain, or in precoated agarose
  • Available in a concentrated 10,000X stock and pre-coated agarose formats

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GelRed® Nucleic Acid Gel Stain
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.

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GelGreen® Nucleic Acid Gel Stain
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.

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Sensitive colorimetric staining for DNA


DNAzure® Visible DNA Gel Stain

Our DNAzure® Visible DNA Gel Stain is ideal for educational lab settings with its convenient and sensitive colorimetric detection that eliminates the need for expensive gel imaging systems. Simply stain and develop bands in two steps with only a white light lamp to develop the color.

DNAzure® Features:

  • Vivid blue bands after 30 min stain and 5-30 min light exposure
  • Bands can be developed with inexpensive commercial light sources
  • Visible blue bands with no need for expensive gel imaging systems
  • Long-lasting stable bands after color development

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DNAzure® Blue Nucleic Acid Gel Stain, 100X
Biotium’s 1 kb DNA ladder was loaded on a 1% agarose gel in two-fold dilutions, ranging from 200 ng to 25 ng total ladder per lane. The mass of the 500 bp band in each lane is labeled. The gel was stained with DNAzure® Blue Nucleic Acid Gel Stain for 25 minutes, and then the visible blue DNA bands were developed for 30 minutes using the Glo-Plate™ Blue LED transilluminator. The gel was placed on a white light transilluminator and imaged with a cell phone camera.

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Save Time by Running DNA Gels 3X Faster

Go-Go™ Fast DNA Gel Running Buffer

Have a tight lab schedule? Get faster DNA gel analysis results with Biotium’s Go-Go™ Fast DNA Gel Running Buffer. This innovative low ionic strength buffer enables faster DNA agarose gel runs, up to 3X quicker than TAE or TBE buffers.

Go-Go™ Fast DNA Gel Running Buffer Features:

  • Time-saving: Allows gels to be run 3X faster than with TAE or TBE
  • Clear results: Provides crisp band resolution
  • Versatile: Excellent results with GelRed®, GelGreen®, and other popular gel stains

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Go-Go™ Fast DNA Gel Running Buffer, 50X
GelRed® Prestain Plus 6X DNA Loading Dye was used to load 1 kb DNA ladder 1% agarose gels cast in 1X Go-Go™ Fast DNA Gel Buffer (left) or 1X TBE (right). The Go-Go™ Fast gel was run at 300 V (27 V/cm) for 30 minutes, while the TBE gel was run at 100 V (9 V/cm) for 90 minutes. Lanes 1-4: 1 kb DNA Ladder from 200 ng to 25 ng per lane.

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Gel Imaging Made Safer and more Sensitive

Gel-Bright™ Laser Diode Gel Illuminator

The Gel-Bright™ Laser Diode Gel Illuminator, using laser diodes (LDs) instead of UV, ensures brighter and clearer results without harming skin, eyes, or DNA samples. The device offers superior sensitivity to green dyes like GelGreen® or SYBR® Green and outperforms blue LED illuminators for red dyes such as GelRed®, EtBr, and One-Step Lumitein™ Protein Gel Stain.

Gel-Bright™ Laser Diode Gel Illuminator Features:

  • Superior sensitivity: Compatible with both green and red dyes unlike blue LED illuminators
  • Versatile: Adjustable light intensity and filter angle. Imaging hood included for taking pictures with cell phone
  • Safer: Eliminates UV light hazards

Safer and Sensitive Gel Imaging

Two-fold dilution series of Biotium’s Ready-to-Use 1 kb DNA Ladder were separated on 1% agarose TBE gels pre-cast with GelRed® or GelGreen®. Total DNA loaded per lane is indicated below the gels. The Gel-Bright™ Laser Diode Gel Illuminator demonstrated the brightest signal for gels stained with GelGreen® and performed comparably to the UVP GelDoc-iT® for gels stained with GelRed®.

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Gel-Bright™ Laser Diode Gel Illuminator

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Other Useful DNA Gel Electrophoresis Reagents

Product Catalog No. Supplied as Pros
Ready-to-Use 100 bp DNA ladders 31032 150 applications (1.5 mL) • Contains 11 double-stranded DNA fragments
• Bands range from 100 bp to 1500 bp
• 500 bp and 1500 bp bands are higher concentration, for orientation
Ready-to-Use 1 kb DNA ladders 31022 150 applications (1.5 mL) • Contains 13 double-stranded DNA fragments
• Bands range from 250 bp to 10 kb
• 1 kb and 3 kb bands are higher concentration, for orientation
DNA Gel Extraction Kit 31030-50 50 assays • Purify DNA fragments from 40 bp to 40 kb
• Maximum binding capacity of each column is 10 ug DNA
• Purify DNA from agarose gels made with TAE or TBE buffer
31030-250 250 assays
TBE Buffer 5X 41006 4 L • 4L Cubitainer® with detachable spigot for easy dispensing
• Non-glug design for a continuous, uninterrupted stream
• Opening can be raised or depressed for pouring
6X DNA Loading Dye (Blue) 99962-1 4 x 1.5 mL • Density agents for easy sample loading
• Visible blue or orange dyes for tracking gel electrophoresis
• Compatible with agarose and polyacrylamide gels
• No fluorescent DNA stains
6X DNA Loading Dye (Orange) 99859-1 4 x 1.5 mL
Agarose LE 41028-25G 25g • High performance agarose for nucleic acid electrophoresis (analytical or preparative) and blotting.
• Validated for use with Biotium’s GelRed®, GelGreen®, and DNAzure® gel stains.
41028-100G 100g
41028-500G 500g

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Stain Safer & Quicker Than Coomassie Blue

One-Step Blue® Protein Gel Staining

One-Step Blue® stands out as a safer and easier alternative to traditional Coomassie blue staining, ideal for students and beginners. This ready-to-use protein gel staining solution does not require light exposure to develop color and eliminates fixation and washing steps while offering improved sensitivity. Staining takes as little as 5 minutes and is non-toxic to the environment, making it suitable for drain disposal after pH neutralization.

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One-Step Blue® Protein Gel Stain

One-Step Blue® Features

  • Environmentally-Conscious: Aqueous-based, non-toxic, and suitable for drain disposal after pH neutralization.
  • Timely Visible Results: Blue bands visible within 5-30 minutes.
  • Enhanced Safety: No toxic ingredients or solvents.

See the simple one-step staining procedure in this quick video

Never Miss a Pipette Well with Our PCR Master Mixes

Forget-Me-Not™ EvaGreen® Master Mix (2-Color Tracking)

The 2X Forget-Me-Not™ EvaGreen® qPCR Master Mix offers a user-friendly solution for qPCR and DNA melt curve analysis, ideal for students and newcomers. Combining EvaGreen® Dye, Cheetah™ HotStart Taq DNA Polymerase, dNTPs, and a low concentration of an inert blue dye, it facilitates easy identification of reaction mix wells. Additionally, its inclusion of Forget-Me-Not™ Template Buffer enables 2-color tracking, preventing pipetting errors and minimizing reagent and sample wastage.

This master mix’s unique 2-color tracking feature provides visual confirmation of correct reaction setup, enhancing user confidence. Moreover, it delivers PCR performance comparable to established alternatives like Fast EvaGreen® Master Mix and Qiagen’s QuantiNova® SYBR® Green PCR Master Mix. With a formulation suitable for fast cycling PCR parameters, it caters to both experienced users and newcomers to qPCR applications, offering versatility and reliability in molecular biology research.

Click here to view the Safety Report for EvaGreen® dye.

 

Key Features:

  • Ready-to-use: Just add primers and DNA template
  • Superior sensitivity: EvaGreen® Dye is more sensitive than SYBR® Green I and is compatible with HRM®
  • Directly visualization: Image green fluorescent PCR product in gel, no other dye needed
  • 2-color tracking: Prevents wasted samples and costly mistakes

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Forget-Me-Not™ EvaGreen® qPCR Master Mix (2-Color Tracking)
Figure 1. The Forget-Me-Not™ EvaGreen® Master Mix (2-color tracking) containing a light blue dye before (left) and after (right) addition of template containing the dark blue template buffer.

 

FMN, Fast EG, QuanitNova qPCR
Real-time PCR data comparing Forget-Me-Not™ (blue lines) with Biotium’s Fast EvaGreen® (green lines) and Qiagen’s QuantiNova® SYBR® Green (gray lines) master mixes. A. Amplification curves on linear scale. EvaGreen® dye-based master mixes yield higher signal compared to the SYBR® Green-based mix. B. Amplification curves on logarithmic scale. Forget-Me-Not™ performs as well or better than the other master mixes. NTCs: non-template controls (dashed lines).

To learn more about our master mixes, please see Forget-Me-Not™ Master Mix Technology.

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PCR ACCESSORY REAGENTS & RELATED PRODUCTS

Biotium offers a wide range of PCR/qPCR accessory products to assist you in your DNA amplification experiments.

Product Name Catalog Number Size
dNTP Mix, 10 mM Each 40054 5 x 1 mL
dNTP Mix, 25 mM Each 40053 1 mL
dNTP Set, 100 mM Each 40052 250 uL Each
ROX Reference Dye 29052 5 x 1 mL
EvaGreen® Dye, 2000X in DMSO 31019 50 uL
EvaGreen® Dye, 20X in water 31000 5 x 1 mL
Cheetah™ Hot-Start Taq Polymerase 29050 500 U

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