Chaotropes, substances that disrupt the structure of water interactions, help to solubilize hydrophobic proteins and peptides for a variety of biological purposes. For example, hydrophobic peptides and proteins may be dissolved in coupling buffer containing either 6 molar guanidine-HCl or 4 molar urea prior to immobilization on AminoLink Plus Support to create an affinity column. However, because the degradation products of guanidine and urea include ammonia, which contains a primary amine that will compete for reaction to the support, urea and guanidine solutions must be prepared with high quality reagents immediately before use.

In addition to increasing solubility of hydrophobic molecules, guanidine is a general protein denaturant, unfolding proteins and altering their three-dimensional structure. Consequently, some proteins will be irreversibly altered upon interaction with guanidine solutions and may lose their binding function. Before any large-scale use of guanidine, it is best to test a small sample and determine whether the denaturing effects will adversely affect the intended use of the protein.

8M Guanidine HCl Highlights:

• Any concentration below 8 M guanidine can be quickly and easily prepared.
• No wasting valuable research time weighing and dissolving guanidine crystals
• Free from UV absorbing materials in the range of 225-300 nm
• Free from heavy metal contaminants
• Free from degradation products such as ammonia
• Excellent stability

Applications for Guanidine Hydrochloride

• Solubilizing proteins from inclusion bodies
• Increasing solubility of hydrophobic peptides and proteins
• Denaturing proteins

Guanidine Hydrochloride Molarity Table
Beginning with 10 ml of 8 Molar Guanidine Hydrochloride Solution,
dilution to the indicated final volume will result in the stated molarity.