Bisbenzimide (Hoechst 33342) is an
organic compound
Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...
used as a fluorescent stain for DNA in molecular biology applications.
Several related chemical compounds are used for similar purposes and are collectively called
Hoechst stains.
Application
Bisbenzimide tends to bind to
adenine
Adenine (, ) (nucleoside#List of nucleosides and corresponding nucleobases, symbol A or Ade) is a purine nucleotide base that is found in DNA, RNA, and Adenosine triphosphate, ATP. Usually a white crystalline subtance. The shape of adenine is ...
–
thymine
Thymine () (symbol T or Thy) is one of the four nucleotide bases in the nucleic acid of DNA that are represented by the letters G–C–A–T. The others are adenine, guanine, and cytosine. Thymine is also known as 5-methyluracil, a pyrimidine ...
-rich regions of DNA and can decrease its density. Bisbenzimide mixed with DNA samples can then be used to separate DNA according to their AT percentage using a
cesium chloride (CsCl) gradient centrifugation.
References
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External links
* Fluorescence Spectra: http://www.fluorophores.tugraz.at/substance/463
DNA-binding substances
Fluorescent dyes
Benzimidazoles
4-Methylpiperazin-1-yl compounds