GelRed™  and  GelGreen™


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Environmentally safe and ultra-sensitive nucleic acid gel stains for replacing EtBr

GelRed™ and GelGreen™ are a new generation of fluorescent nucleic acid gel stains designed to replace the highly toxic ethidium bromide (EtBr). Developed by scientists at Gentaur, GelRed™ and GelGreen™ are superior to EtBr and other EtBr alternatives by having a combination of low toxicity, high sensitivity and exceptional stability.

EtBr has been the predominant dye used for nucleic acid gel staining for decades because of its low price and generally sufficient sensitivity. However, EtBr is a highly mutagenic material. The safety hazard and costs associated with decontamination and waste disposal can ultimately make the dye expensive to use. For this reason, alternative gel stains, such as SYBR dyes, have become commercially available in recent years. Although these alternative dyes have reduced mutagenicity, they often have to sacrifice other aspects of the dyes. For example, SYBR Safe has very limited sensitivity while SYBR Green and SYBR Gold are much less stable than EtBr. SYBR dyes also enter cells rapidly to stain mitochondria and nuclear DNA, making it more likely for the dyes to be toxic at high enough concentrations. Indeed, SYBR Green I is known to strongly potentiate mutation caused by UV light or another mutagen (Ohta, et al. Mutat. Res. 492, 91(2001)).
Figure 1. Comparison of GelRed™ and ethidium bromide (EtBr) in precast gel staining using 1% agaose gel in TBE buffer. Two-fold serial dilutions of 1 kb Plus DNA Ladder from Invitrogen were loaded onto each gel in 4 lanes in the amounts of 200 ng, 100 ng, 50 ng and 25 ng, respectively, from left to right. Gels were imaged using a 300-nm transilluminator and photographed with an EtBr filter and Polaroid 667 black-and-white print films.

FEATURES

  • Safer than EtBr
    Shown by Ames test and other tests to be nonmutagenic and noncytotoxic.
  • Easy disposal
    Passed environmental safety tests for direct disposal down the drain or in regular trash.
  • Ultra-sensitive 
    Much more sensitive than EtBr and SYBR Safe.
  • Extremely stable
    Available in water, stable at room temperature for long-term storage and microwavable.
  • Flexible for different procedures
    Can be used for either precast or post gel staining
  • Simple to use 
    Very simple procedures for precast and post gel stainings.
  • Perfect Compatibility with a Standard UV Transilluminator or a Gel Reader with Visible Light Excitation
    GelRed™ replaces EtBr with no optical setting change; GelGreen replaces SYBR or GelStar with no optical setting change(See Figure 3 for spectra).

To make GelRed™ and GelGreen™ safe, scientists at Gentaur used a novel yet very simple concept: reducing genotoxicity by preventing the dyes from entering living cells. We believe that a DNA-binding dye can be made nonmutagenic or substantially so by denying its chance to be in contact with genomic DNA in living cells. Thus, we engineered the chemical structures of GelRed™ and GelGreen™ such that the dyes are incapable of crossing cell membranes. The Ames test confirmed that GelRed™ and GelGreen™ are nonmutagenic at concentrations well above their working concentrations used for gel staining. Furthermore, environmental safety tests showed that GelRed™ and GelGreen™ are nonhazardous and nontoxic to aquatic life. As a result, GelRed™ and GelGreen™ can be disposed of down the drain or in regular trash. For more information, please download the GelRed™/GelGreen™ Safety Report on Gentaur website.
Figure 2. Comparison of GelGreen and SYBR Safe in post gel staining using 1% agarose gel in TBE buffer. Two-fold serial dilutions of 1 kb Plus DNA Ladder from Invitrogen were loaded onto each gel in 4 lanes in the amounts of 200 ng, 100 ng, 50 ng and 25 ng, respectively, from left to right. Gels were imaged using a 254-nm transilluminator and photographed with a SYBR filter and Polaroid 667 black-and-white print films.

GelRed™ and GelGreen™ are highly sensitive either as precast gel stains or post gel stains. Designed primarily for use with a 312/302 nm UV transilluminator, GelRed™ is much more sensitive than EtBr, and at least as sensitive as or brighter than SYBR Gold in post gel staining. Unlike SYBR Gold, GelRed™ can also be used as a highly sensitive precast gel stain. GelGreen is developed to meet the needs of researchers who use a 488 nm laser-based gel scanner or a Dark Reader that uses a visible blue light for excitation. GelGreen™ is spectrally similar to SYBR Safe, but is far more sensitive than the latter.

Another major advantage of GelRed™ and GelGreen™ is their remarkable stability. You can handle the two dyes the same way you do with EtBr. This means that the dyes are perfectly stable in water at room temperature for long-term storage, and they can be microwaved for making precast gels. Both dyes are also very photostable, permitting their use under normal room light without exercising special precaution.

A complete list of GelRed™ and GelGreen™ products is shown in Table A.

Figure 5. Comparison of mutagenicity among GelGreen™, GelRed™, SYBR Green I and EB in +1 frameshift Salmonella indicator strain TA98 with the presence of S9 fraction. ""indicates EB was not tested at this concentration. "" indicates SYBR Green I became cytotoxic at this concentration. For more information, you can download GelRed™ and GelGreen™ Safety Report on Gentaur website.

* GelGreen™ and GelRed™ are covered by pending US and international patents.
** SYBR is a trademark of Molecular Probes, Inc.

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Tables. Ordering Information

Cat#

Product Name

Unit Size
41001 GelRedTM Nucleic Acid Gel Stain, 3X in water 4.0 L

GelRedTM is an ultra sensitive, extremely stable and environmentally safe fluorescent nucleic acid dye designed to replace the highly toxic ethidium bromide (EB) for staining dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels or polyacrylamide gels. GelRed is far more sensitive than EB without requiring a destaining step (Figure 1). GelRed and EB have virtually the same spectra (Figure 3), so you can directly replace EB with GelRed without changing your existing imaging system.
GelRedTM can be used to stain dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels via either precast or post gel staining. GelRed can also be used to stain dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in polyacrylamide gels via post gel staining. GelRed is also compatible with downstream DNA manipulations such as restriction digest, sequencing, and cloning.
A series of safety tests have confirmed that GelRedTM is noncytotoxic, nonmutagenic and nonhazardous at concentrations well above the working concentrations used in gel staining. As a result, GelRed can be safely disposed of down the drain or in regular trash, providing convenience and reducing cost in waste disposal.
Gentaur offers GelRedTM 10,000X solution in water (cat#41003), our latest formulation that eliminates the hazards of handling DMSO for better safety. We continue to offer GelRedTM 10,000X solution in DMSO (cat#41002) for established users of GelRedTM in DMSO who do not wish to change their laboratory protocols. The performance and stability of GelRedTM 10,000X is comparable in both the water and DMSO formulations.For your convenience, we also offer ready-to-use GelRedTM 3X in water (cat#41001) that can be directly used for post gel staining. For customers who look for large pack size, we offer a cost-saving bulk pack size of 10mL (cat#41003-1).
 

Cat#

Product Name

Unit Size

41002

GelRedTM Nucleic Acid Gel Stain, 10,000X in DMSO

0.5 mL

GelRedTM is an ultra sensitive, extremely stable and environmentally safe fluorescent nucleic acid dye designed to replace the highly toxic ethidium bromide (EB) for staining dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels or polyacrylamide gels. GelRed is far more sensitive than EB without requiring a destaining step (Figure 1). GelRed and EB have virtually the same spectra (Figure 3), so you can directly replace EB with GelRed without changing your existing imaging system.
GelRedTM can be used to stain dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels via either precast or post gel staining. GelRed can also be used to stain dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in polyacrylamide gels via post gel staining. GelRed is also compatible with downstream DNA manipulations such as restriction digest, sequencing and cloning.
A series of safety tests have confirmed that GelRedTM is noncytotoxic, nonmutagenic and nonhazardous at concentrations well above the working concentrations used in gel staining. As a result, GelRed can be safely disposed of down the drain or in regular trash, providing convenience and reducing cost in waste disposal.
Gentaur offers GelRedTM 10,000X solution in water (cat#41003), our latest formulation that eliminates the hazards of handling DMSO for better safety. We continue to offer GelRedTM 10,000X solution in DMSO for established users of GelRedTM in DMSO who do not wish to change their laboratory protocols. The performance and stability of GelRedTM 10,000X is comparable in both the water and DMSO formulations. For your convenience, we also offer ready-to-use GelRedTM 3X in water (cat#41001) that can be directly used for post gel staining. For customers who look for large pack size, we offer a cost-saving bulk pack size of 10mL (cat#41003-1).

 

Cat#

Product Name

Unit Size

41002-1

GelRed Nucleic Acid Stain, 10,000X in DMSO, bulk pack

10 mL

GelRedTM is an ultra sensitive, extremely stable and environmentally safe fluorescent nucleic acid dye designed to replace the highly toxic ethidium bromide (EB) for staining dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels or polyacrylamide gels. GelRed is far more sensitive than EB without requiring a destaining step (Figure 1). GelRed and EB have virtually the same spectra (Figure 3), so you can directly replace EB with GelRed without changing your existing imaging system.
GelRedTM can be used to stain dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels via either precast or post gel staining. GelRed can also be used to stain dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in polyacrylamide gels via post gel staining. GelRed is also compatible with downstream DNA manipulations such as restriction digest, sequencing and cloning.
A series of safety tests have confirmed that GelRedTM is noncytotoxic, nonmutagenic and nonhazardous at concentrations well above the working concentrations used in gel staining. As a result, GelRed can be safely disposed of down the drain or in regular trash, providing convenience and reducing cost in waste disposal.
Gentaur offers GelRedTM 10,000X solution in water (cat#41003), our latest formulation that eliminates the hazards of handling DMSO for better safety. We continue to offer GelRedTM 10,000X solution in DMSO for established users of GelRedTM in DMSO who do not wish to change their laboratory protocols. The performance and stability of GelRedTM 10,000X is comparable in both the water and DMSO formulations. For your convenience, we also offer ready-to-use GelRedTM 3X in water (cat#41001) that can be directly used for post gel staining. For customers who look for large pack size, we offer a cost-saving bulk pack size of 10mL (cat#41003-1).

 

Cat#

Product Name

Unit Size

41003

GelRedTM Nucleic Acid Gel Stain, 10,000X in water

0.5 mL

GelRedTM is an ultra sensitive, extremely stable and environmentally safe fluorescent nucleic acid dye designed to replace the highly toxic ethidium bromide (EB) for staining dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels or polyacrylamide gels. GelRed is far more sensitive than EB without requiring a destaining step (Figure 1). GelRed and EB have virtually the same spectra (Figure 3), so you can directly replace EB with GelRed without changing your existing imaging system.
GelRedTM can be used to stain dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels via either precast or post gel staining. GelRed can also be used to stain dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in polyacrylamide gels via post gel staining. GelRed is also compatible with downstream DNA manipulations such as restriction digest, sequencing, and cloning.
A series of safety tests have confirmed that GelRedTM is noncytotoxic, nonmutagenic and nonhazardous at concentrations well above the working concentrations used in gel staining. As a result, GelRed can be safely disposed of down the drain or in regular trash, providing convenience and reducing cost in waste disposal.
Gentaur offers GelRedTM 10,000X solution in water, our latest formulation that eliminates the hazards of handling DMSO for better safety. We continue to offer GelRedTM 10,000X solution in DMSO (cat#41002) for established users of GelRedTM in DMSO who do not wish to change their laboratory protocols. The performance and stability of GelRedTM 10,000X is comparable in both the water and DMSO formulations. For your convenience, we also offer ready-to-use GelRedTM 3X in water (cat#41001) that can be directly used for post gel staining. For customers who look for large pack size, we offer a cost-saving bulk pack size of 10mL (cat#41003-1).

 

Cat#

Product Name

Unit Size

41003-1

GelRed Nucleic Acid Stain, 10,000X in water, bulk pack

10 mL

GelRedTM is an ultra sensitive, extremely stable and environmentally safe fluorescent nucleic acid dye designed to replace the highly toxic ethidium bromide (EB) for staining dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels or polyacrylamide gels. GelRed is far more sensitive than EB without requiring a destaining step (Figure 1). GelRed and EB have virtually the same spectra (Figure 3), so you can directly replace EB with GelRed without changing your existing imaging system.
GelRedTM can be used to stain dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels via either precast or post gel staining. GelRed can also be used to stain dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in polyacrylamide gels via post gel staining. GelRed is also compatible with downstream DNA manipulations such as restriction digest, sequencing, and cloning.
A series of safety tests have confirmed that GelRedTM is noncytotoxic, nonmutagenic and nonhazardous at concentrations well above the working concentrations used in gel staining. As a result, GelRed can be safely disposed of down the drain or in regular trash, providing convenience and reducing cost in waste disposal.
Gentaur offers GelRedTM 10,000X solution in water, our latest formulation that eliminates the hazards of handling DMSO for better safety. We continue to offer GelRedTM 10,000X solution in DMSO (cat#41002) for established users of GelRedTM in DMSO who do not wish to change their laboratory protocols. The performance and stability of GelRedTM 10,000X is comparable in both the water and DMSO formulations. For your convenience, we also offer ready-to-use GelRedTM 3X in water (cat#41001) that can be directly used for post gel staining. For customers who look for large pack size, we offer a cost-saving bulk pack size of 10mL (cat#41003-1).

 

Cat#

Product Name

Unit Size

41003-T

GelRed Nucleic Acid Stain, 10,000X in water (trial size)

0.1 mL

GelRedTM is an ultra sensitive, extremely stable and environmentally safe fluorescent nucleic acid dye designed to replace the highly toxic ethidium bromide (EB) for staining dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels or polyacrylamide gels. GelRed is far more sensitive than EB without requiring a destaining step (Figure 1). GelRed and EB have virtually the same spectra (Figure 3), so you can directly replace EB with GelRed without changing your existing imaging system.
GelRedTM can be used to stain dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels via either precast or post gel staining. GelRed can also be used to stain dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in polyacrylamide gels via post gel staining. GelRed is also compatible with downstream DNA manipulations such as restriction digest, sequencing, and cloning.
A series of safety tests have confirmed that GelRedTM is noncytotoxic, nonmutagenic and nonhazardous at concentrations well above the working concentrations used in gel staining. As a result, GelRed can be safely disposed of down the drain or in regular trash, providing convenience and reducing cost in waste disposal.
Gentaur offers GelRedTM 10,000X solution in water, our latest formulation that eliminates the hazards of handling DMSO for better safety. We continue to offer GelRedTM 10,000X solution in DMSO (cat#41002) for established users of GelRedTM in DMSO who do not wish to change their laboratory protocols. The performance and stability of GelRedTM 10,000X is comparable in both the water and DMSO formulations. For your convenience, we also offer ready-to-use GelRedTM 3X in water (cat#41001) that can be directly used for post gel staining. For customers who look for large pack size, we offer a cost-saving bulk pack size of 10mL (cat#41003-1).

 

Cat#

Product Name

Unit Size

41004

GelGreenTM Nucleic Acid Gel Stain, 10,000X in DMSO

0.5 mL

GelGreenTM is a sensitive, stable and enviornmentally safe green fluorescent nucleic acid dye designed to stain either dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels. GelGreen is far more sensitive than SYBR Safe (Figure 1). Unlike SYBR dyes, which are known to be unstable, GelGreen is very stable, both hydrolytically and thermally. GelGreen has a UV absorption between 250 nm and 300 nm and a strong absorption peak centered around 500 nm (Figure 2). Thus, GelGreen is compatible with either a 254 nm UV transilluminator or a gel reader equipped with visible light excitation (such as a 488 nm laser-based gel scanner or a Dark Reader).
GelGreen can be used for either post gel staining or precast gel staining.
A series of safety tests have confirmed that GelGreenTM is noncytotoxic, nonmutagenic and nonhazardous at concentrations well above the working concentrations used in gel staining. As a result, GelGreen can be safely disposed of down the drain or in regular trash, providing convenience and reducing cost in waste disposal.
We offer GelGreenTM 10,000X solution in DMSO and in water (cat#41005) for better safety. We also offer 10mL bulk pack size of GelGreenTM 10,000X solution in water (cat#41005-1).

 

Cat#

Product Name

Unit Size

41005

GelGreenTM Nucleic Acid Gel Stain, 10,000X in water

0.5mL

GelGreenTM is a sensitive, stable and enviornmentally safe green fluorescent nucleic acid dye designed to stain either dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels. GelGreen is far more sensitive than SYBR Safe (Figure 1). Unlike SYBR dyes, which are known to be unstable, GelGreen is very stable, both hydrolytically and thermally. GelGreen has a UV absorption between 250 nm and 300 nm and a strong absorption peak centered around 500 nm (Figure 2). Thus, GelGreen is compatible with either a 254 nm UV transilluminator or a gel reader equipped with visible light excitation (such as a 488 nm laser-based gel scanner or a Dark Reader).
GelGreen can be used for either post gel staining or precast gel staining.
A series of safety tests have confirmed that GelGreenTM is noncytotoxic, nonmutagenic and nonhazardous at concentrations well above the working concentrations used in gel staining. As a result, GelGreen can be safely disposed of down the drain or in regular trash, providing convenience and reducing cost in waste disposal.
We offer GelGreenTM 10,000X solution in DMSO and in water (cat#41005) for better safety. We also offer 10mL bulk pack size of GelGreenTM 10,000X solution in water (cat#41005-1).

 

Cat#

Product Name

Unit Size

41005-1

GelGreen Nucleic Acid Stain, 10,000X in water, bulk pack

10 mL

GelGreenTM is a sensitive, stable and enviornmentally safe green fluorescent nucleic acid dye designed to stain either dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels. GelGreen is far more sensitive than SYBR Safe (Figure 1). Unlike SYBR dyes, which are known to be unstable, GelGreen is very stable, both hydrolytically and thermally. GelGreen has a UV absorption between 250 nm and 300 nm and a strong absorption peak centered around 500 nm (Figure 2). Thus, GelGreen is compatible with either a 254 nm UV transilluminator or a gel reader equipped with visible light excitation (such as a 488 nm laser-based gel scanner or a Dark Reader).
GelGreen can be used for either post gel staining or precast gel staining.
A series of safety tests have confirmed that GelGreenTM is noncytotoxic, nonmutagenic and nonhazardous at concentrations well above the working concentrations used in gel staining. As a result, GelGreen can be safely disposed of down the drain or in regular trash, providing convenience and reducing cost in waste disposal.
We offer GelGreenTM 10,000X solution in DMSO and in water (cat#41005) for better safety. We also offer 10mL bulk pack size of GelGreenTM 10,000X solution in water (cat#41005-1).

 

Cat#

Product Name

Unit Size

41005-T

GelGreen Nucleic Acid Stain, 10,000X in water (trial size)

0.1 mL

GelGreenTM is a sensitive, stable and enviornmentally safe green fluorescent nucleic acid dye designed to stain either dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA in agarose gels. GelGreen is far more sensitive than SYBR Safe (Figure 1). Unlike SYBR dyes, which are known to be unstable, GelGreen is very stable, both hydrolytically and thermally. GelGreen has a UV absorption between 250 nm and 300 nm and a strong absorption peak centered around 500 nm (Figure 2). Thus, GelGreen is compatible with either a 254 nm UV transilluminator or a gel reader equipped with visible light excitation (such as a 488 nm laser-based gel scanner or a Dark Reader).
GelGreen can be used for either post gel staining or precast gel staining.
A series of safety tests have confirmed that GelGreenTM is noncytotoxic, nonmutagenic and nonhazardous at concentrations well above the working concentrations used in gel staining. As a result, GelGreen can be safely disposed of down the drain or in regular trash, providing convenience and reducing cost in waste disposal.
We offer GelGreenTM 10,000X solution in DMSO and in water (cat#41005) for better safety. We also offer 10mL bulk pack size of GelGreenTM 10,000X solution in water (cat#41005-1).