When post-staining agarose gels in an ethidium bromide / water bath for 10 minutes, my labmate says she can re-use the post-stain solution 2-3 times before she has to add more ethidium bromide (at 0.5ug/ml). When I have tried this, my staining never works after the first gel. I always add fresh ethidium bromide to each gel for post-staining.
What is the difference? Can you re-use ethidium bromide like this or should it be fresh each time?
It is good to use fresh solution each time. This will make sure a perfect result. But you can also re-use it two or three times if the solution was not used for a long period.
It can be reused for a couple of times. As per my experience I have reused it for 3 times and got results. But I would recommend not to use it more than once/twice if you expect a low DNA concentration in your samples.
Hello Christopher Carroll ,
Without a doubt you can use the BrEt solution more than once, you have to know that one single BrEt molecule is intercalated approximately every two nitrogenous bases, so depending on the amount of DNA that has been stained before and the BrEt concentration used, these it will limit the efficiency of the following staining. It is advisable to change the solution every 2 or 3 times. But in my opinion, it is more recommended that you use non-cancerous DNA-Intercalating agents, such as GoodViewTM, RedView and others.... They are cheap and safe. I personally use GoodView in my lab, applying it directly to the agarose, and it works great. Your safety comes first;) I hope my advice has helped you. Luck!
Useful links:
GoodView: http://www.sbsbio.com/news/englishnew/product_full.php?y=3&cid=114&nid=161
RedView: https://www.genecopoeia.com/product/redview-dna-gel-stain/
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