Cat.No.：D29011A
Price: ￥
Specifications：
GelRed is a highly sensitive, stable and environmentally safe fluorescent nucleic acid dye, designed to replace the highly toxic ethidium bromide (EtBr). It is suitable for staining and detecting double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) or RNA in agarose gels or polyacrylamide gels. This product is a 10,000× concentrated solution. Before use, it needs to be diluted to the working concentration in proportion.
High safety and no mutagenicity: The unique oiliness and large molecular weight of GelRed prevent it from penetrating the cell membrane and entering the cell, fundamentally reducing the operational risks. The results of the Ames test confirmed that GelRed did not exhibit cytotoxicity or mutagenicity even at concentrations far higher than those used for gel staining. Its water-soluble dye has been certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as safe, and the waste can be directly poured into the sewer without special treatment.
High sensitivity: The detection sensitivity of GelRed is 8-10 times higher than that of EB, especially for the detection of small molecular weight DNA. It can clearly detect DNA bands as low as 1 ng. It is suitable for electrophoresis staining of various fragment sizes and has less effect on nucleic acid migration than SYBR Green I, ensuring accurate and reliable band positions.
Good stability: This product has strong stability and can be directly added to the high-temperature agarose gel solution in a microwave oven or other heating methods. It remains highly stable in acidic or alkaline buffer solutions at room temperature and has excellent light resistance. It can be stored for a long time at room temperature in the dark.
High signal-to-noise ratio and clear bands: The fluorescence signal of the sample is strong, the background signal is low, the band edges are clear, which effectively improves the phenomenon of band tailing and blurring, making it convenient and accurate to interpret the electrophoresis results.
Simple operation and strong compatibility: GelRed is used in the same way as EB and supports two methods: pre-stained gel staining (gel staining method) and post-electrophoresis staining (soaking staining method). No decolorization is required. It is perfectly compatible with standard gel imaging systems and can be observed using standard EB filters or SYBR filters. The nucleic acid products after staining do not affect subsequent experiments and can be directly used for gel purification, restriction enzyme digestion, sequencing, cloning and other subsequent operations.
| Cat. No. | Component | Specification | Quantity |
| B60011A | GelRed（10000×） | 0.2 mL | 1 |
Store at 15 - 25℃ in a dark place.
This product is suitable for staining of dsDNA, ssDNA and RNA in agarose gel and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It is widely used in experiments such as PCR product analysis, DNA fragment recovery and cloning, restriction enzyme digestion analysis, genetic typing and RNA quality detection.
What are the differences between GelRed and ethidium bromide (EB)?
Both EB and GelRed can be used for nucleic acid electrophoresis staining. However, EB is a small molecule dye (with a molecular weight of approximately 394) that can penetrate the cell membrane and enter the cells, and it has strong mutagenic and carcinogenic properties. GelRed is an oily macromolecular dye (with a molecular weight of approximately 1400) that cannot penetrate the cell membrane and enter living cells. The Ames test confirmed that it has no mutagenic properties at the staining concentration in the gel. The spectral characteristics of both are almost the same, so when replacing EB with GelRed, there is no need to change the imaging system.
What are the different staining methods of GelRed? How to choose?
GelRed supports two staining methods: Gel staining method (pre-prepared gel staining): When preparing the gel, directly add GelRed to the melted agarose (for example, add 5 μL of 10000× stock solution for every 50 mL of gel), mix well, and then prepare the gel. Observe the results after electrophoresis. This method is simple to operate, requires less dye, and is more economical. However, GelRed has a certain impact on DNA migration, and abnormal band migration may occur when a large amount of samples are loaded. Bubble staining method (staining after electrophoresis): After electrophoresis, immerse the gel in the diluted GelRed solution (for example, prepare 3× working solution by diluting 10000× stock solution with 0.1M NaCl water solution at a ratio of 3300:1), and let it stain at room temperature for about 30 minutes. No decolorization is required for observation. This method has higher sensitivity and can eliminate the interference of the dye on DNA migration, but it requires more dye, and the staining solution can be reused 2-3 times. Recommendation: For routine experiments, the gel staining method is preferred; when the band separation degree is required to be high or the loading amount is large, the bubble staining method is recommended.
Is GelRed suitable for polyacrylamide gel (PAGE)?
GelRed is suitable for staining DNA/RNA in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, but the immersion method should be adopted. Some data indicate that the high concentration of acrylamide in the PAGE gel may affect the embedding efficiency of GelRed. It is recommended to conduct a preliminary experiment based on specific experimental conditions to confirm the staining effect.
Can GelRed be used for staining of single-stranded DNA or RNA?
OK. GelRed can be used for staining of single-stranded DNA and RNA. However, the fluorescence signal after GelRed binds to single-stranded nucleic acids is approximately half that of double-stranded DNA. In terms of the sensitivity for staining single-stranded nucleic acids, GelRed is about 5 times more sensitive than GelGreen.
When using the gel staining method, if there are abnormal band migration or "smiling" bands, how can they be improved?
Possible causes and solutions are as follows: Excessive DNA loading: The recommended loading amount is 50–200 ng per lane. For samples of unknown concentration, try reducing the loading to 1/2 or 1/3 of the usual amount. Too high concentration of GelRed: Try using 0.5× working concentration instead of 1×. Inappropriate gel concentration: For high-molecular-weight DNA, a lower percentage of agarose gel is recommended. Incompatible electrophoresis buffer: TBE buffer usually provides better separation results than TAE buffer. Switch to staining method: If the above adjustments are ineffective, it is recommended to switch to the staining method to avoid the interference of the dye on DNA migration.
Can the GelRed pre-prepared gel be stored in advance?
OK. The GelRed dye is stable in agarose gel and can be prepared in advance as a pre-prepared gel, which can be stored at 4℃ in the dark for future use. However, it is not recommended to reuse the gel after electrophoresis, as repeated electrophoresis will reduce the staining intensity.
