Ficoll 400

• Ficoll 400 is a high molecular weight non-ionic, highly branched, synthetic polymer of sucrose. It is synthesized by the copolymerization of sucrose and epichlorohydrin.
• Ficoll 400 is a hydrophilic compound. It dissolves readily in water due to high content of hydroxyl groups. Depending on the concentration, It forms clear to slightly hazy, colourless to yellowish solution in water.
• Aqueous solution of ficoll is stable at alkaline and neutral pH but rapidly hydrolyzed at pH below 3.0, particularly at elevated temperatures.
• Comparatively low osmolality and low membrane permeability and similar density makes ficoll 400 a better choice than sucrose for biological applications particularly for the separation of cells.

Applications:

• Isolation and purification of cells, cell membranes, cell organelles and viruses.
• Denhardt’s solution, which is used for Northern and Southern hybridization, contains Ficoll 400.
• Ficoll 400 can also be used as a high-density agent for the preparation of DNA/RNA loading dye for agarose and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of DNA/RNA