These stains are ideal for replacing hazardous ethidium bromide (EtBr) in agarose and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. They are best suited for the excitation of nucleic acids with UV or visible blue light transilluminators. Both stains are environmentally safe, nonmutagenic, and require no special methods of disposal. It is recommended they be stored at 39.2°F (4°C).

The loading dye with stain, supplied at 6x concentration, can be added directly to the samples. No dye needs to be added to the gel or running buffer. When bound to dsDNA, ssDNA or RNA, it emits a green fluorescence.

The prestain emits green fluorescence when bound to dsDNA or ssDNA and emits red fluorescence when bound to RNA. It exhibits excitation peaks at 290 nm and 490 nm.