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Key Documents

D5758

Sigma-Aldrich

Diethyl pyrocarbonate

96% (NT)

Synonym(s):

DEP, DEPC, Diethyl dicarbonate, Diethyl oxydiformate, Ethoxyformic acid anhydride

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About This Item

Linear Formula:
O(COOC2H5)2
CAS Number:
Molecular Weight:
162.14
Beilstein/REAXYS Number:
637031
EC Number:
MDL number:
UNSPSC Code:
12352202
PubChem Substance ID:
NACRES:
NA.77

biological source

synthetic (microbial fermentation/ cell culture)

Quality Level

assay

96% (NT)

form

liquid

refractive index

n20/D 1.398 (lit.)

bp

93-94 °C/18 mmHg (lit.)

density

1.101 g/mL at 25 °C (lit.)

shipped in

wet ice

storage temp.

2-8°C

SMILES string

CCOC(=O)OC(=O)OCC

InChI

1S/C6H10O5/c1-3-9-5(7)11-6(8)10-4-2/h3-4H2,1-2H3

InChI key

FFYPMLJYZAEMQB-UHFFFAOYSA-N

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General description

Diethyl Pyrocarbonate (DEPC) is a chemical use to inactivate RNase enzymes and is sensitive to moisture and pH. It decomposes at 155°C, to ethanol and carbon dioxide in aqueous solution. DEPC is also sensitive to ammonia, which causes decomposition to urethane, a possible carcinogen.

Application

Diethyl pyrocarbonate has been used in PCR reaction for treating deionized water, which reduces the risk of RNA being degraded by RNases. It is also used for Dot blot hybridization, to dilute total RNA isolated from different micro-organisms.
Modification reagent for His and Tyr residues in proteins. Robust probe for structural disruptions in dsDNA, reacting with fully or partially unstacked bases.

Biochem/physiol Actions

DEPC is a potent nuclease inhibitor.0.1% solution of DEPC is used to inactive RNase.
It inhibits the ryanodine binding to ryanodine/Ca2+ receptor channels in skeletal muscle in a dose and time dependent manner and increases the Ca2+ permeability of SR vesicles.
Inactivates RNase in solution at about 0.1% (v/v), thus protecting RNA against degradation.

pictograms

Exclamation mark

signalword

Warning

hcodes

Hazard Classifications

Acute Tox. 4 Oral

Storage Class

10 - Combustible liquids

wgk_germany

WGK 3

flash_point_f

156.2 °F - closed cup

flash_point_c

69 °C - closed cup

ppe

Eyeshields, Faceshields, Gloves, type ABEK (EN14387) respirator filter


Certificates of Analysis (COA)

Search for Certificates of Analysis (COA) by entering the products Lot/Batch Number. Lot and Batch Numbers can be found on a product’s label following the words ‘Lot’ or ‘Batch’.

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Exposure of junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membranes or purified ryanodine receptor to the histidine-specific reagent diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC) led to concentration- and time-dependent inactivation of ryanodine binding. The pH-dependence of the inactivation of ryanodine binding by DEPC and the reversal
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Articles

Nuclease-free water (or PCR water) is needed in molecular biology to avoid sample degradation during PCR, sequencing, etc. Ultrafiltration provides a quicker, safer, and more sustainable alternative to DEPC treatment when preparing RNase-free and DNase-free water.

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