Chemical Properties
Bromophenol Blue is pink or red powder
Uses
As indicator, pH 3.0 yellow; pH 4.6 purple.
Uses
Bromophenol Blue is an electrophoresis tracking dye also used as an acid-base indicator
Definition
Bromophenol Blue is used as a laboratory indicator, changing from yellow below pH 3 to purple at pH 4.6, and as size marker for monitoring the progress of agarose gel and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It has also been used as an industrial dye.
Preparation
Synthesis of bromophenol blue: Dissolve phenol red in glacial acetic acid, add a solution of bromine in glacial acetic acid with stirring, pour into 60°C hot water after stirring for a few minutes, cool to room temperature, and place overnight. Filter, wash the filter cake with glacial acetic acid and benzene in turn, and air dry to obtain bromophenol blue.
Biotechnological Applications
Bromophenol blue is present as a sulfonated hydroxyquinone in acidic aqueous solutions. It is also known as tetrabromophenolsulfonphthalein. Bromophenol Blue is a pH indicator and a dye appears a strong blue color. It has a slightly negative charge and will migrate in the same direction as DNA, allowing the user to monitor the progress of molecules moving through the gel. The rate of migration varies with gel composition.
Bromophenol Blue is used as a tracking dye in DNA, RNA (agarose) and protein (polyacrylamide) gel electrophoresis. It has been used in the preparation of protein samples for western blotting analysis. Bromophenol blue migrates at approximately the same rate as 300-500bp DNA in agarose gel and at the buffer front in protein polyacrylamide gels.It has also been known for its use as a vital stain to probe the blood-brain barrier.
Purification Methods
Crystallise the dye from *C6H6 or Me2CO/AcOH, and dry it in air. It is an indicator: at pH 3.0 it is yellow and it is purple at pH 4.6. [Beilstein 19/3 V 458.]
