- There are many nucleic acid staining dyes that can be used to visualize DNA embedded in the agarose gel. These staining dyes possess high quantum yields (i.e., dye-DNA complexes fluoresce several-fold more intensely than the dye alone) when bound to DNA.
- With the help of highly sensitive dyes and a good imaging capture system, as little as 1 ng of DNA per band in agarose gel can be detected.
- Traditionally, Ethidium bromide is used to visualize DNA in agarose gel. However, it is reported to be a hazardous and mutagenic agent. Now many alternatives are available commercially. The most commonly used alternative dye for the detection of DNA is GelRed in most laboratories.
- The following dyes can be used to detect DNA in agarose gel.
- Ethidium bromide
- GelRed™ from Biotium
- GelGreen®
- SafeWhite
- SafeView
- Nancy-520
- Midori Green Advance
- RedSafe™
- GreenSafe™
- Diamond™ Nucleic Acid Dye
- SYBR dye
- SYBR Green I
- SYBR Gold
- SYBR™safe
- EZ-Vision®
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