Looking in to alternatives for Etbr for our DNA electrophoresis. I've done some research on GelRed and Sybersafe but I've been hearing conflicting reviews. I'd like some insight in to other labs and their results. Is green dye better than red? Are you seeing bleeding? All insight is welcomed.
Thank you.
There are a few aspects that you may want to consider. There is no easy answer to what dye to use because it depends on your risk aversion, financial status and the sensitivity of the gels that you are running. So sybr gold is 9 times more expensive than EtBr while the sensitivity of EtBr is 1ng while sybr gold is 25pg so cost/sensitivity may be important. Gelstar,sybr gold and sybr safe can all be excited using blue visible light avoiding UV risk to skin and eyes and also avoiding expensive UV transilluminators. Sybr green can detect 60pg of dna but is best used post staining after the run which may be inconvenient if you are watching a gel in order to excise one band Methylene blue is very cheap but can only be used post electrophoresis while nile blue can be used during electrophoresis but both these ( and fast blast) can be used with visible light to detect the dna. I think that the evidence against EtBr is poor and that some of the other dyes ( not the SAFE dyes) do not look perfectly safe and that it can be used with gloves quite safely although when I went round our electrophoresis area with a hand help UV lamp it was astonishing where splashes of etbr had ended up ( even the ceiling)
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