Diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid CAS:67-43-6

Inactivation of RNases: The primary purpose of DEPC is to inactivate RNases, which are enzymes that can degrade RNA. DEPC reacts with histidine residues in RNases, modifying their active sites and rendering them inactive. This ensures the preservation of RNA integrity during experiments such as RNA isolation, reverse transcription, and RNA sequencing.

Preservation of RNA samples: DEPC treatment is often applied to laboratory equipment, such as microcentrifuge tubes, pipette tips, and water used in RNA experiments. This helps to inhibit any residual RNases that may be present and prevent RNA degradation during sample handling and storage.

RNAse-free reagent preparation: DEPC can be used to treat solutions or reagents that need to be RNAse-free, such as buffers, Tris-EDTA (TE) solutions, or water used in molecular biology experiments. These treated solutions can then be used safely to minimize RNA degradation.

DNA modification: DEPC can also react with amino groups in DNA molecules, resulting in the carbethoxylated modification of DNA bases. This can be utilized in specific applications, such as DNA sequencing reactions or modifying DNA for crosslinking studies.