Medical Definition of Ethidium bromide
1.
A dye that intercalates into DNA and to some extent RNA.
Intercalation into linear DNA is easier than into circular DNA and the addition of ethidium bromide to DNA prior to ultracentrifugation on a caesium chloride gradient is much used to separate nuclear and mitochondrial or plasmid DNA for analytical purposes. Because less intercalates into the circular DNA, the density remains higher.
This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology
(11 Mar 2008)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Ethidium Bromide
Other Resources:
