DNA staining

[Donald A. Lehn]

In article <910729200935.20400736 at NTDOC.NCTNET.GOV> WMELCHIOR at NTDOC.NCTNET.GOV writes:
->I am helping develop an experiment for high school students
->involving agarose gel electrophoresis of DNA.  My question is,
->what stain should we use.  I have read that methylene blue
->can be used -- this would avoid the use of the mutagenic
->ethidium bromide and of ultraviolet light, which would be
->desirable for working with a group of students.  On the 
->other hand, I'm worried that the sensivity would not be 
->high enough.  I'd like to keep to less than a microgram
->of DNA per band.
->
->Does anyone have experience with methylene blue staining
->of agarose gels?  I haven't been able to find anything
->in my "standard" reference works about how to use it or
->how sensitive it is.  Or are there other non-hazardous
->stains I should investigate?  (I need advice on staining 
->solutions, such as dye concentration and buffer components,
->as well as destaining solutions and procedures.)
->
->I'm anxious to help my teacher friend develop an
->exciting but safe experiment.  Any help will be much
->appreciated.
->
->
->Bill Melchior      
->
->National Center for Toxicological Research
->Jefferson, AR  72079
->(501) 543-7206
->
->wmelchior at ntdoc.nctnet.gov

You might consider using biotinylated DNA.  You could then combine with
this experiment the use of enzymes (avidin coupled with peroxidase) to
tag molecules.

Don Lehn

--
Donald A. Lehn, Ph.D.                      Phone: (301) 496-2885
Bldg.37 Rm 3D20                            FAX:   (301) 496-8419
National Cancer Institute / NIH            Email: donnel at helix.nih.gov
Bethesda MD 20892