For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
Blue color increases visibility of sample pellet
Increases pellet mass
Quantitative recovery of low concentrations (ng/ml) of nucleic acid
Prevents pellet loss in nuclease protectin assays
What is a Coprecipitant- Coprecipitants are inert substances used to aid recovery of nucleic acids during alcohol precipitations. While they can be used for precipitating large amounts of nucleic acids, they are essential for quantitative recovery of small amounts of nucleic acids in dilute solutions. Often, the use of such molecules is desirable for no other reason but visualization of the pelleted precipitate after centrifugation.GlycoBlue™ GlycoBlue™ consists of a blue dye covalently linked to glycogen, a branched chain carbohydrate. GlycoBlue can be added to nucleic acid solutions at a final concentration of 50-150 µg/ml. When a typical acetate/alcohol precipitation is done, the GlycoBlue willprecipitate wit the nucleic acids, facilitating good RNA or DNA recovery while increasing the size and visibility of the pellet. GlycoBlue can be used as a coprecipitant in nuclease protection assays at 1/100 dilution of stock solution. Since glycogen does not contain appreciable amounts of nucleic acids, it is often preferable to yeast RNA as a coprecipitant, especially in applications where nucleic acid mass is being assessed or where added nucleic acid could interfere or compete with subsequent enzymatic reactions.
Ambion′s glycogen is isolated from mussel, a biological source, as are most other preparations of this coprecipitant. Glycogen is treated with Proteinase K and SDS to remove any contaminating nucleases, then phenol/chloroform extracted, ethanol precipitated, and resuspended in nuclease-free water. The glycogen is guaranteed RNase- and DNase-free. GlycoBlue is compatible with most nuclease protection assay procedures and is included in Ambion′s RPA III™ Kit.
Are all Glycogens Created Equal-Most preparations of glycogen, including Ambion′s, are derived from a biological source, namely - the mussel, a marine organism. Thus, glycogen is usually contaminated with nucleic acid. The nucleic acid can affect absorbance readings and even compete or participate in subsequent enzymatic reactions. Ambion′s Glycogen, however, is treated to specifically remove any nucleic acid contamination. Nuclease digestion is followed by Proteinase K and SDS treatment and a phenol/chloroform extraction. These steps ensure that these coprecipitants are free of both nucleic acids and nucleases. Thus, Ambion′s Glycogen and GlycoBlue can be used safely in any application where there are stringent requirements for the absence of contaminating nucleic acids.
Glycogen The same product as GlycoBlue (see above), without the dye. When used at a final concentration of 50-150 µg/ml, glycogen will coprecpitate with nuclec acids in the presence of 0.5 M ammonium acetate and isopropanol or ethanol. It is supplied at a concentration of 5 mg/ml in diethyl pyrocarbonate-treated distilled water. Glycogen will not interfere with 260/280 readings.
