Gelite™ Safe DNA Stains

Gelite™ Safe DNA Gel Stains are AAT Bioquest's premium line of environmentally benign, non-mutagenic DNA gel stains designed as safer and more sensitive alternatives to ethidium bromide. Unlike commonly used cyanine-based nucleic acid stains such as SYBR Green, which have documented mutagenicity and handling concerns, Gelite™ Safe is membrane-impermeant and noncytotoxic. Ames testing demonstrates that Gelite™ Safe shows significantly reduced mutagenicity compared to ethidium bromide and SYBR® Green under the tested conditions.

Gelite™ Safe is the first single formulation optimized for use in either the green or red channel at your preference, compatible with UV transilluminators, blue-light transilluminators, gel documentation systems, and laser scanners. The exceptional DNA binding affinity produces fluorescence enhancement several orders of magnitude greater than ethidium bromide upon nucleic acid binding, while remaining essentially non-fluorescent in the absence of DNA for minimal background.

Feature	Gelite™ Safe	Ethidium Bromide	SYBR Green
Ames Test (Mutagenicity)	Negative (Non-mutagenic)	Positive (Mutagenic)	Positive (Mutagenic)
Sensitivity	~0.1 ng DNA	~1-10 ng DNA	~0.1 ng DNA
Background Fluorescence	Very Low	Moderate	Low
Disposal Requirements	Standard waste	Hazardous waste	Varies by institution
EtBr Filter Compatibility	Yes	Yes	No (requires FITC filters)
Membrane Permeability	Impermeant (Noncytotoxic)	Permeant	Permeant (Cytotoxic)
Dual Channel (Green/Red)	Yes	Red only	Green only

Fig. 1

Comparison of DNA detection in 1% agarose gel in TBE buffer using Gelite™ Safe, EtBr, and SYBR^® Safe. Two-fold serial dilutions of 1 kb DNA ladder were loaded in amounts of 100 ng, 50 ng, and 25 ng from left to right. Gels were stained for 60 minutes with Gelite™ Safe, EtBr, and SYBR^® Safe according to the manufacturer's recommended concentrations and imaged using the ChemiDoc™ Imaging System (Bio-Rad^®). Gels were illuminated using a 300 nm transilluminator fitted with GelGreen and GelRed filters.

Fig. 2

Summary of Ames test results. Ames mutagenicity test was performed in a dose-dependent manner for Gelite™ Safe, SYBR^® Green, and EtBr. Samples were pretreated with an S9 fraction liver extract and then tested. With S. Typhimurium strain TA1538, an increase in revertants of more than two-fold over the background indicates a positive result for mutagenicity.

Spectral Properties

Gelite™ Safe DNA Gel Stain features a unique dual-excitation profile that provides exceptional versatility across different imaging systems.

Excitation Maxima

280 nm (UV region) — Compatible with standard UV transilluminators
513 nm (Visible region) — Efficiently excited by blue LED and 488 nm laser sources

Emission Maximum

552 nm — Orange-red fluorescence detectable with standard ethidium bromide filter sets

Compatible Filter Sets

SYBR filter (green channel imaging)
GelStar filter
GelGreen filter
GelRed filter (red channel imaging)
602/50 nm or 590/110 nm bandpass (EtBr standard filters)
Texas Red filter sets

This unique spectral profile means Gelite™ Safe can be used as a direct drop-in replacement for ethidium bromide without changing your existing imaging setup, while also being compatible with SYBR-type green filters for maximum flexibility.

Fig. 3

Gelite Excitation Spectrum;Gelite Emission Spectrum

Normalized excitation and emission spectra for Gelite™ Safe DNA gel stain determined in the presence of DNA. Gelite™ Safe has excitation maxima in the UV region at 280 nm and in the visible region at 513 nm. It can be excited by instruments equipped with 254 nm (left black line), 300 nm (middle black line), or 488 nm (blue line) lasers. Gelite™ has a broad emission spectrum with a single emission maximum at 552 nm. It can be detected using either a 602/50 nm (EtBr) or 590/110 nm filter set.

Available Products

Our flagship Gelite™ Safe stains provide the optimal balance of sensitivity, safety, and convenience. Choose between DMSO or water-based formulations based on your workflow preferences.

This document (01.0064.211015r2) was last updated on Sat Feb 28 2026. All trademarks and registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.