I have used (ethanol ,sodium hydrochloride, distil water ) as usual .
But with the explant of horseradish leaves and roots there is still contamination maybe because it is too much microorganisms in the soil .
This time I want to use Mercury Chloride ,but I am afraid if it is too harmfull .
How can I use Mercury Chloride to sterilize the plant leaves and roots ?
How much the safe concentration I can use ?
Is it too toxic to my health ?
Try to avoid the use of mercury compounds anywhere. Mercury contaminates your body and is cummulative. I did not undesrtand well your sterelisation process, but you have to check literature alternatives. See the msds of mercury chloride at http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924616.
Thank you so much for your reply Silas .
I have tried many chemicals to sterilize horseradish roots but all of the has failed .
because of that I bought mercury chloride ,
But I could not find the procedures how to use it for surface sterilization of the roots .
If you know the steps please tell me ,and do I need to dilute it in distilled water or what ?
Mercuric Chloride and compounds containing mercury are extremely toxic and should only handled using rubber gloves or equivalent covering to keep the chemical away from the skin. Any plant material sterilized with a weak solution that has dried still can harm organisms if the dust on chemical gets on them. That is why it is used in the Jenman Herbarium in Guyuana since fungi and moulds even grow on glass in that climate. However the herbarium sheets are always handled wearing gloves, and the protocol is to wash your hands after you take the gloves off. The gloves should then by kept away from other things since they will have some dust containing mercury on their surface. Never use this chemical for other cleaning purposes, nor allow any contaminated materials to escape into the natural environment.
What are you trying to remove, anyway, and what are you going to do with the roots afterwards? Your answer should indicate what methods might be applicable.
Stuart.
Thanks Stuart ,
I would like to sterilize horseradish leaves and roots and the infect it with bacteria to cause hairy roots disses . That why I do not want any contamination .
Especially with the roots it is very dirty .
For sterilizing ex-plants we are using 0.1 % Mercuric Chloride. For preparation u have to add 1 gram HgCl2 in 1 lit. double distilled water followed by 1 hour autoclaving. You can use this when ever u want. In laminar treat your explants with HgCl2 soution about 4-5 minutes followed 3 distilled water rinses.
washing in 70 % ethanol, incubation in 30% bleach solution for 15-30 minutes then wash 6 times with sterile distilled water will do the job
Dear Dr. Noha,
You can try with 0.1 % mercuric chloride for 3 min to 5 min. Prior to this, better to use any fungicides (e.g. Bavisitin) or any other and need to standardize the concentration and timings. Finally wash with sterile distilled water 5-7 times before inoculation.
Best Wishes,
0.1% mercuric chloride solution prepared in autoclaved distilled water can be used for surface sterilization.After soaking for about 3 min,the explants can be washed 4-5 times thoroughly with sterile distilled water before inoculation.The duration of exposure to mercuric chloride solution has to be standardized depending on the nature of the explant.
Article The uptake of mercury by seeds treated with mercuric chlorid...
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