Skip to Content
Merck
All Photos(3)

Key Documents

View All Documentation

E7637

Sigma-Aldrich

Ethidium bromide

BioReagent, for molecular biology, powder

Synonym(s):

3,8-Diamino-5-ethyl-6-phenylphenanthridinium bromide, EtBr, Homidium bromide

Sign Into View Organizational & Contract Pricing
All Photos(3)

About This Item

Empirical Formula (Hill Notation):
C21H20BrN3
CAS Number:
1239-45-8
Molecular Weight:
394.31
Beilstein:
3642536
EC Number:
214-984-6
MDL number:
MFCD00011724
UNSPSC Code:
41105322
PubChem Substance ID:
24894653
NACRES:
NA.31

grade

for molecular biology

Quality Level

200

product line

BioReagent

form

powder

technique(s)

electrophoresis: suitable

mp

260-262 °C (dec.) (lit.)

fluorescence

λex 360 nm; λem 590 nm in PBS
λex 526 nm; λem 605 nm (10 mM TBE; pH 8.0;)
λex 526 nm; λem 605 nm in aqueous buffer

suitability

suitable for gel electrophoresis

SMILES string

[Br-].CC[n+]1c(-c2ccccc2)c3cc(N)ccc3c4ccc(N)cc14

InChI

1S/C21H19N3.BrH/c1-2-24-20-13-16(23)9-11-18(20)17-10-8-15(22)12-19(17)21(24)14-6-4-3-5-7-14;/h3-13,23H,2,22H2,1H3;1H

InChI key

ZMMJGEGLRURXTF-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Looking for similar products? Visit Product Comparison Guide

Application

Ethidium bromide (EtBr) is the most commonly used nucleic acid stain for PAGE or agarose gel electrophoresis. The fluorescence of EtBr increases 21-fold upon binding to double-stranded RNA and 25-fold on binding double-stranded DNA so that destaining the background is not necessary with a low stain concentration (10 μg/ml). Ethidium bromide has been used in a number of fluorimetric assays for nucleic acids. It has been shown to bind to single-stranded DNA (although not as strongly) and triple-stranded DNA. Because of its ability to bind to DNA, EtBr is an inhibitor of DNA polymerase.

Frameshift mutagen which intercalates double-stranded DNA and RNA.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Ethidium bromide intercalates double-stranded DNA and RNA and acts as a frameshift mutagen. It can also be used in conjunction with acridine orange to differentiate between viable, apoptotic and necrotic cells.

Reconstitution

For staining a gel after electrophoresis, dilute a sample of the stock solution to 0.5 μg/ml with water and incubate the gel for 15-30 min. Destaining is usually not needed but can be carried out in water for 15 min if decreased background is necessary. The DNA bands can then be detected on a UV light box (254 nm wavelength). Ethidium bromide can also be incorporated into the gel and running buffer at 0.5 μg/ml and visualized immediately after electrophoresis.

related product

Product No.
Description
Pricing

Pictograms

Skull and crossbonesHealth hazard
GHS06,GHS08

Signal Word

Danger

Hazard Statements

H302,H330,H341

Hazard Classifications

Acute Tox. 1 Inhalation - Acute Tox. 4 Oral - Muta. 2

Storage Class Code

6.1A - Combustible acute toxic Cat. 1 and 2 / very toxic hazardous materials

WGK

WGK 1

Flash Point(F)

Not applicable

Flash Point(C)

Not applicable

Personal Protective Equipment

dust mask type N95 (US), Eyeshields, Gloves

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’.

Already Own This Product?

Find documentation for the products that you have recently purchased in the Document Library.

Visit the Document Library

Anna Mas-Vinyals et al.
Colloids and surfaces. B, Biointerfaces, 181, 864-871 (2019-08-07)
Regenerative medicine requires the use of heterogeneous scaffolds when the tissue that needs to be repaired presents a gradient in its properties and cannot be replaced by a homogeneous graft. Then, an intimate contact between the different layers is critical
Ulrich Braunschweig et al.
Genome research, 24(11), 1774-1786 (2014-09-27)
Alternative splicing (AS) of precursor RNAs is responsible for greatly expanding the regulatory and functional capacity of eukaryotic genomes. Of the different classes of AS, intron retention (IR) is the least well understood. In plants and unicellular eukaryotes, IR is
Patrick Seitz et al.
PLoS genetics, 10(1), e1004066-e1004066 (2014-01-07)
The DNA uptake of naturally competent bacteria has been attributed to the action of DNA uptake machineries resembling type IV pilus complexes. However, the protein(s) for pulling the DNA across the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria remain speculative. Here we
Suguru Shigemori et al.
Microbial cell factories, 14, 189-189 (2015-11-27)
Mucosal delivery of therapeutic proteins using genetically modified strains of lactic acid bacteria (gmLAB) is being investigated as a new therapeutic strategy. We developed a strain of gmLAB, Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 (NZ-HO), which secretes the anti-inflammatory molecule recombinant mouse heme
Li Zhang et al.
Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology, 186, 39-51 (2014-12-04)
Bill Milsom has made seminal contributions to our understanding of ventilatory control in a wide range of vertebrates. Teleosts are particularly interesting, because they produce a 3rd, potentially toxic respiratory gas (ammonia) in large amounts. Fish are well known to
View All Related Papers

Related Content

Ethidium Bromide

Ethidium bromide is a well-known and widely used fluorescent dye in biotechnology research.

Ethidium Bromide

Ethidium bromide is a well-known and widely used fluorescent dye in biotechnology research.

Ethidium Bromide

Ethidium bromide is a well-known and widely used fluorescent dye in biotechnology research.

Ethidium Bromide

Ethidium bromide is a well-known and widely used fluorescent dye in biotechnology research.

Our team of scientists has experience in all areas of research including Life Science, Material Science, Chemical Synthesis, Chromatography, Analytical and many others.

Contact Technical Service