2,7-Diamino-10-ethyl-9-phenyl-phenanthridinium
bromide
Ethidium Bromide
Ethidium
bromide is an intercalating dye
used as a nucleic acid stain in molecular biology. The main
three-ring portion resembles a
flat
purine-pyrimidine base pair, and is able to slip into DNA
between adjacent
co-planar base pairs (intercalation).
Under
ultraviolet light, intercalated EtBr
fluoresces
with a strong pink-orange colour, and for this reason is used
extensively as a dye in DNA experiments.
Ethidium
bromide is a very strong
mutagen, carcinogen, and teratogen that causes
mutations,
cancer, and
developmental defects, respectively.
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text
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©2014 by Steven M. Carr