Potential Mutations and Symptoms from Exposure to Ethidium Bromide

  • Thread starter Gelsamel Epsilon
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In summary, the conversation discusses the use of Ethidium bromide in handling eletrophoresis gels for genetic assignments. It is an intercalating agent that can cause replication errors and has potential risks for skin, eye, and respiratory irritation. Latex gloves are not effective in protecting against it and nitril gloves should be used instead. The exact symptoms of exposure to Ethidium bromide are unpredictable but cancer is a potential risk.
  • #1
Gelsamel Epsilon
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This Monday I have to goto Melbourne to do 2 SACs in one day (For non-Australians they are basically assesed assignments) having to do just with general genetics.

Anyway they say that we should use gloves etc. blah blah blah safety stuff, because we'll be handling Ethidium bromide (in the form of eletrophoresis gels is my guess) which is a mutagen.

My question is why type of mutations/symptoms can be expected if you're exposed to Ethidium bromide? (Just curious =p)

~Gelsamel
 
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  • #2
Ethidium bromide is an intercalating agent, so it bind to DNA and will force replication errors, so it impossible to predict the symptoms that will results from this mutation but cancer can be one.

Ethidium bromide is also an irritant of the skin, the eye and respiratory tract. Also, latex gloves do not protect as well as nitril, ethidum bromide can go trough latex gloves if it's in large concentration/quantity. Trust me I learn this one the hard way.
 
  • #3
iansmith said:
latex gloves do not protect as well as nitril.
Latex is useless.

Just about any chemical will go through it, if it doesn't outright disolve it first.
Might be ok to keep big clunky bacteria off your skin, but that's about it.
 

FAQ: Potential Mutations and Symptoms from Exposure to Ethidium Bromide

What is ethidium bromide?

Ethidium bromide is a chemical compound commonly used in scientific research as a mutagen, which means it has the ability to induce mutations in DNA.

How does ethidium bromide cause mutations?

Ethidium bromide inserts itself between the base pairs of DNA, causing structural changes that can lead to mutations during DNA replication.

What are the potential risks of using ethidium bromide in experiments?

Ethidium bromide is a known carcinogen and can be harmful if ingested or inhaled. It should be handled with caution and disposed of properly.

Can ethidium bromide be replaced with a safer alternative?

Yes, there are now safer alternatives available for staining DNA, such as SYBR Safe or GelRed, that are just as effective but pose less health risks.

Is ethidium bromide still widely used in scientific research?

While it is still used in some labs, many scientists have switched to safer alternatives for the staining of DNA. However, it is still commonly used in certain techniques, such as agarose gel electrophoresis, for visualization of DNA bands.

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