DNA gel-stain developer Biotium has launched its EMBER500 RNA Prestain Loading Dye, which was designed to be much more sensitive than conventional prestaining with ethidium bromide (EtBr) and has compatibility with blue LED gel imagers.
Staining for RNA is commonly done with EtBr on a denaturing gel after electrophoresis. However, denaturing gels can be complicated to prepare and involve handling hazardous reagents. RNA prestaining with EtBr can be performed with non-denaturing agarose gels, but requires large amounts of the dye and sensitivity is still severely limited.
EMBER500 was developed to offer much brighter signal and higher sensitivity than EtBr for RNA gel staining. The prestain also includes formamide as well as electrophoresis tracking dyes, allowing sample denaturing, loading, tracking, and staining in a single step. In addition, EMBER500 stains both RNA and DNA, allowing the detection of contaminating genomic DNA in purified RNA samples. Detection of EMBER500 is compatibility for UV transilluminators and blue LED gel imagers, which eliminate UV exposure hazards.
The prestain will be supplied at a 2X concentration, for streamlined loading of sample and dye in equal volumes. EMBER500 RNA Prestain Loading Dye will be available in 4 x 1 mL and 1 x 250 uL sizes.
Featured image: The EMBER500 RNA Prestain Loading Dye was developed to offer much brighter signal and higher sensitivity than EtBr for RNA gel staining. Photo: Biotium
