How is ethidium bromide mutagenic?

Because ethidium bromide can bind with DNA, it is highly toxic as a mutagen. It may potentially cause carcinogenic or teratogenic effects, although no scientific evidence showing either health effect has been found. Exposure routes of ethidium bromide are inhalation, ingestion, and skin absorption.

EtBr is a potent mutagen (can cause genetic damage), and moderately toxic after an acute exposure. EtBr can be absorbed through skin, so it is important to avoid any direct contact with the chemical. The powder form is considered an irritant to the upper respiratory tract, eyes, and skin.

The mutagenesis by ethidium bromide, An intercalating dye, which induces the mutation from wild type (rho+) to the cytoplasmic respiratory deficient petite (rho-) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, was studied under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

Health Hazards

EtBr is a potent mutagen (may cause genetic damage), and moderately toxic after an acute exposure.

It is used because upon binding of the molecule to the DNA and illumination with a UV light source, the DNA banding pattern can be visualized. The mode of binding of EtBr is intercalation between the base pairs. This binding Changes the charge, weight, conformation, and flexibility of the DNA molecule.

Although a highly sensitive stain, ethidium bromide is notoriously unsafe. Not only is It a very strong mutagen, it may also be a carcinogen or teratogenic. Its MSDS documents state that it is harmful if swallowed and very toxic by inhalation, as well as being irritating to the eyes, respiratory system and skin.

Adding too much ethidium on your gel Can cause a lot of background fluorescence when visualising As well. Note that the SYBR Gold emission spectra is different from Ethidium Bromide as well so you might need a different filter on your imaging dock to see SYBR Gold-stained samples.

It is added to running buffer and binds by intercalating between DNA base pairs. When the agarose gel is illuminated using UV light, DNA bands become visible. Intercalation of EtBr can alter properties of the DNA molecule, such as charge, weight, conformation, and flexibility.

Intercalating agents, such as acridine, Introduce atypical spacing between base pairs, resulting in DNA polymerase introducing either a deletion or an insertion, leading to a potential frameshift mutation.

Ethidium bromide intercalates, Inserts itself between, double stranded DNA that results in DNA deformation. This disruption to the DNA structure can affect key biological functions including DNA replication and transcription.

To put this further into context, EtBr is less toxic than salicylates (e.g., aspirin) and caffeine, which cause severe toxicity at serum concentrations of >750 mg/L [16] and >80 mg/L, [17,18] respectively.

Note: Natural rubber latex gloves do not provide a suitable barrier to penetration by EtBr. EtBr stock solutions and powder should be stored away from strong oxidizing agents in a cool, dry place and the container must be kept undamaged and tightly closed.

You will be just fine. Just wash your hands before you eat that donut. Thousands of people touch EtBr everday, knowingly (touching the gel, EtBr bottle) or unknowingly (door handles, keyboards, instruments, bench surface etc in a busy lab with one careless person are contaminated).

Uses of Ethidium Bromide

Although ethidium bromide is routinely used to stain DNA in gels, Ethidium bromide has also been used to detect protein–DNA complexes in band shift assays and to observe single DNA molecules during gel electrophoresis.

Ethidium bromide (2,7-diamino-10-ethyl-9-phenylphenanthridinium bromide) is used as a nucleic acid stain which fluoresces in the presence of ultraviolet (UV) light. It is commonly sold in a powder form which is soluble in water. The powder is Dark red or purple In color.

Ethidium bromide is good not only for staining of nucleic acids but also For staining of proteins After polyacrylamide gel soaking in trichloroacetic acid solution. Anal Biochem.

NOTE: Ethidium bromide is a chemical and Should NOT be treated or labeled as a biohazard.

Why? Because Ethidium Bromide can be harmful to the researcher if not handled properly or if accidents occur and it also becomes hazardous waste. Although all chemicals and equipment require some minimum level of safety, working with ethidium bromide requires heightened care and thorough treatment before disposal.

Use soap and water mixture (detergent solution) or 70% ethanol to wipe clean laboratory work surfaces contaminated with ethidium bromide. 2. Use a UV light to survey work surfaces in the laboratory to ensure that the ethidium bromide has been removed.

Forgetting to Add Ethidium Bromide (or Another DNA/RNA stain) to Your Agarose Gel. In a rush, it’s easy to forget to add ethidium bromide to your agarose before casting the gel. Without it, of course, It will be impossible to visualize your DNA.

The gel also contains a chemical called Ethidium bromide. Ethidium bromide sticks to the DNA and causes the DNA to glow under UV light.

This positively charged polycyclic aromatic compound binds to DNA by inserting itself between the basepairs (“intercalation”). The DNA bands can be seen by exposure of the gel to ultraviolet light, Due to the the large increase in fluorescence of the ethidium bromide upon binding to the DNA.

Solution : Visible light Is the mutagenic agent. The non-ionising radiations of visible light (UV-rays) have been found to produce mutagens in culture media, which induced mutations in irradiated organisms placed in these media for few hours. These rays cause hydration of cytosine and thymine.

Intercalating agents are another type of chemical mutagen. They tend to be flat, planar molecules like benzo[a]pyrene, a component of wood and tobacco smoke, and induce mutations by inserting between the stacked bases at the center of the DNA helix.

A mutagen is A chemical or physical agent capable of inducing changes in DNA called mutations. Examples of mutagens include tobacco products, radioactive substances, x-rays, ultraviolet radiation and a wide variety of chemicals.

However, there are safer alternatives to ethidium bromide. Products such as SYBR Green, Accuris SmartGlow™, and Apex Safe DNA Gel Stain Are green fluorescent cyanine dyes that are highly sensitive and are non-carcinogenic, as determined by the Ames-test.