fading DNA bands on agarose gel - is it normal? - (Aug/19/2006 )
i have never seen this happen before, but yesterday, following etbr staining, i was looking at the gel to see whether ligation had taken place or not, i saw the dna bands actually FADE away into nothing in front of my eyes. this happened within 5 min of my switiching on the uv-transilluminator.
is this normal - the dna was there one moment, and then it wasn't the next.................even the markers were fading though they could still be seen with much less intensity when the sample dna had disappeared.
- viv
EtBr faded away under constant UV irradiation. This happens to many fluorescent dyes too.
Yes, I have experienced this too. You need to minimize your UV exposure time.
There are several antifade solutions available to minimize fluorophore photobleaching in FISH and immunofluorescence work where prevention of loss of specific fluorescence is paramount.
Yes, EtBr faded away if it’s exposed to UV irradiation for long time. Why did you exposed per 5 minutes???
oh that was because i was discussing the pattern of dna with a student. and i have stood before an illuminated gel for longer periods many times, and this has never happened.....
- viv