There is little actual evidence that EtBr is carcinogenic but on that basis it is widely believed to be mutagenic. EtBr is used in cattle to treat trypanosome infections. There are many ( more expensive) alternatives like gelred and sybrsafe which are chemically similar to EtBr but their larger size makes it difficult for them to cross the cell membrane so they are supposedly safer. The link below may be of interest

https://bitesizebio.com/417/ethidium-bromide-the-alternatives-2/#:~:text=Ethidium%20Bromide%3A%20The%20Alternatives%201%20Ethidium%20Bromide.%20The,manufactured%20by%20Invitrogen.%20...%205%20Gel%20Red.%20

Hi Vinay Mohan Kandpal

Fluorescent tags such as thiazole orange dimer (TOTO), SYBR®, Diamond™ Nucleic Acid Dye have been previously reported in studies as providing good visualizing of DNA in gel electrophoresis similar to EtBr and also report to be lesser mutagenic and lesser carcinogenic. Whatever the dye you use, it is better to take safety precautions when handling it because all these alternatives are also not 100% safe.

Dear Vinay

"Gel Red" is a common intercalating fluorescent dye which is enough to add to gel as you prepare. It is more safe and less harmfull, although there isnt enough evidence to show EtBr toxicosity.

This dye produce by lots of company .

DNA safe Stain is a new nucleic acid stain which can be used as a safer alternative to the traditional ethidium bromide stain for detecting nucleic acid in agarose gels. It is as sensitive as Ethidium bromide and can be used exactly the same way in agarose gel electrophoresis

Dear Vinay Mohan Kandpal thank you for your very interesting technical question. As already mentioned by Paul Rutland the question if ethidium bromide is mutagenic / carcinogenic is rather controversial. It is certainly toxic in high concentrations, and it is thus advisable to wear nitrile rubber gloves when working with this dye. It has been shown that ethidium bromide can penetrate normal disposable latex gloves and is then resorbed by the skin.

Here is an article in which the potential dangers of ethidium bromide are highlighted. The author also suggests to use alternatives:

A toxic death for ethidium bromide

https://www.labnews.co.uk/article/2029552/a_toxic_death_for_ethidium_bromide

You my also want to check out the following closely related RG thread entitled:

Is that the Ethidium bromide really carcinogenic ?

https://www.researchgate.net/post/Is-that-the-Ethidium-bromide-really-carcinogenic

For more information about possible alternatives, please have a look at the following interesting article:

Are other fluorescent tags used instead of ethidium bromide safer?

Article Are other fluorescent tags used instead of ethidium bromide safer?

This article is freely available as public full ext.

Gel red

Gel red

Dear Vinay Mohan Kandpal I agree with Danial Shokouhi and Abdoul Razack Sare in that "GelRed" is a suitable less mutagenic alternative to ethidium bromide. It should be noted that GelRed® is a commercial DNA stain which is manufactured by Biotium company. It is already listed in the overview of possible alternatives provided by Paul Rutland. GelRed® is being advertised to be the most safe, sensitive and robust nucleic acid gel stain which is also less mutagenic than ethidium bromide, but more stable upon storage. For some additional information please have a look at the following link:

Safer Alternatives to Ethidium Bromide

https://www.uvic.ca/ohse/assets/docs/haz-waste/saferalternatives.pdf

Biotium has also issued a Safety Report for GelRed® and GelGreen® which is worth reading before using on e of these alternatives.

https://biotium.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/GelRed-and-GelGreen-Safety-Report.pdf

P.S. Personally I don't like the abbreviation EtBr for ethidium bromide as it is also widely used for ethyl bromide. This can lead to confusion.

GoldView™ is a type of nucleic acid dye that can replace ethidium bromide (EB). i am using this dye for bacterial DNA detection. For more details please visit following link http://www.coolaber.com/Product_Detail.asp?Column_ID=50879&P_ID=4762

You can follow this RG thread for more answers https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_is_the_alternative_for_Ethidium_Bromide_in_Gel_Electrophoresis