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What is the difference between ethidium bromide and SYBR Safe?
Posted January 14, 2022
Physiological ProbesDNA and RNA QuantitationNucleusCell Structures and OrganellesGel Electrophoresis
Answer
Ethidium bromide and SYBR Safe are both highly sensitive stains used for visualizing DNA in agarose or acrylamide gels. Both stains work by intercalating with DNA but there are a few major points of difference between the two.
Ethidium Bromide:
  • Highly toxic as a mutagen
  • Can be used in the gel or as a post-stain at a concentration of 0.5 mg/L
  • Uses UV excitation in downstream applications
SYBR Safe:
  • Less mutagenic than ethidium bromide but its acute toxicity is higher
  • Used only as an in-gel stain
  • Can utilize either blue light or UV excitation in downstream applications
SYBR Safe is generally used as a safer alternative to ethidium bromide in most agarose gel electrophoresis experiments.
Additional resources
Development of a SYBR safe technique for the sensitive detection of DNA in cesium chloride density gradients for stable isotope probing assaysGelite™ Safe DNA Gel Stain *10,000X DMSO Solution*

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