There are other methods for seed sterilization-- such as the combination use of ethanol (EtOH) and bleach (NaOCl). We have been using this combination for tobacco seeds, Arabidopsis seeds, carrot seeds, ....... sterilization for germination in tissue culture.

mercuric chloride is toxic but its a good surface sterilizer after mercuric chloride treatment u need wash the seeds several times. if ur seeds have strong seed coat use desiccator for seed sterilization with the combination of 50ml bleach and 3 ml conc.HCL overnight in desiccator  

As you say, mercuric chloride is toxic, but most of times sterilization with 1% bleach for 5 min is enough. You can also combine it with ethanol, especially if the seed coat is very rough or consists of several covers.

5 min is enough if the seed coat is veri thin.

if it is hard u van do for overnight i did this method to sterilize soyabeen seeds 

I asked my self this question and then I compared the effect of HgCl2 (0,5%) and NaOCl (4,5%) for date palm explants sterilization and I found that bleach (NaOCl) is good than HgCl2. about your question I thing that use HgCl2 is less cheap. 1 kg of HgCl2 276 euro in Sigma you can prepare 2000 l

Try 0.1% HgCL2 followed by bleach and EtOH treatment. 0.5% is high concentration. 

Although mercuric chloride is toxic but it is a broad spectrum anti-fungal agent that's why it is preferred to be used as surface sterilizer. An extra care must be taken while handling or dealing with mercuric chloride.

Dear Huma Qureshi ;

Mercuric chloride is your last chance! If any other works it maybe work. It is toxic for the seed, environment and user.

U can try Hypochlorite (calcium or sodium) or DCCA ( Sodium dichloroisocyanurate) that is better then Hypochlorite because is acid - Try a 5g per L solution with some drops of any detergent (Tween-80 or triton -X100)

Regards

NElson

Mercuric chloride used as a seed surface sterilizer as a disinfectant. It will work similar to organomercurials.

I agree to Dr. Nelson Machado Neto. Mercuric chloride is your last chance. Hypochloride may be used, as far small quantities may be not so bad. Ethanol may be usefull when seed or fruits have ornamentations and you can used it with hypochloride.

Mercuric chloride is highly antimicrobial,  with action against both  fungi and bacteria, but frequently also kills the seeds/plant materials. At low concentrations (upto 0.1 %) it is perhaps the most effective disinfective agent for seeds with soil-borne and the epiphytic fungi. So this could be the reason why some people prefer to use it as 5-20% bleach is sometimes ineffective against some fungi. But one is always safer with hypochlorite and  you could safely use 30- 50% or even up to 100% commercial bleach (nearly 4-6% sodium hypochlorite).  Mercuric chloride should really be avoided as it is highly toxic to nearly every other organism and, even worse, quickly volatises so significant quantities of its its vapour form may  be inhaled  during measurement of the solid. A number of research labs around the world have completely  banned its use.

Exclusively protect from fungal and microbial infections

Is hgcl2 can also be used for sterilisation when we are studying the  effect of industrial effluent in seed germination? ?

I am wondering that how or where people dump away mercuric chloride solution in the lab after it is used for seed surface sterilizer since it is so toxic. What is the standard procedures to dispose them?

Due to its antimicrobial nature it is highly used in tissue culture lab for seed sterilization,the concentration of which depends on type of seed coat.Mercuric treatments at different concentrations were tested , mercuric above 200mgl-1 proved to be lethal, 

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I agree with Dr. Eliud Sagwa Mulanda that Mercuric chloride is highly antimicrobial,  with action against both fungi and bacteria. It may use at 0.05 - 0.1% for 1-5 min according to the seed type a the most effective disinfective agent for seeds.

HgCl2 is toxic for microbes as its exerts antimicrobial activity.

Preferível hipoclorito de sódio (água sanitária) , ois o mercúrio em contato com composto orgânicos é absorvidos. Ele é muito mais tóxico para os animais, incluído humanos.

Mercuric chloride (HgCl2) is a very toxic and dangerous substance and its use for sterilizing seeds is not reasonable at all. You can use available and cheap materials such as sodium hypochlorite, ethanol or benomyl, etc.

Até pode ser mais eficiente, mas e a manipulação, bem como destinação do resíduo? Resolve-se um problema, cria-se outro.

Concordo com os colegas que mencionaram o hipoclorito de sódio.

Outra alternativa interessante é o paraformaldeído, o qual não gera resíduo.

Mercuric chloride used as a seed surface sterilizer and it depends upon the nature of the seed. It is highly antimicrobial, with action against both fungi and bacteria, but frequently also kills the seeds/plant materials.

Generally, 0.1% HgCl2 for 2-3 min is safe as a surface sterilizer which does not affect the seed viability.

Mercury chloride is an effective antimicrobial, but researchers should use caution when using it as a seed surface disinfectant.