i have touched agrose gel which contain ethidium bromide

[hamid_v]

i have touched agrose gel which contain ethidium bromide ( this is my first time )
------

That was around 0.1 gram ethidium bromide in 100ML TAE buffer

i poured the gel in Sink , i drained some water over gel , and then i moved the gel to dustbin using newspaper ( Newspaper got wet because of that )

So i have touched the gel when i moved from sink to dustbin ,

i had a little irritation in a finger and i washed that fastly with out soap

So i want to know am i going to have any problem because of this act ?
Am i going to take cancer only for 1 time touch ?


Best Regards
Hamid

[Aga]

I don't think so. The concentration you mentioned is potentially harmful when you are exposed frequently, quite frequently. The most harmful is EtBr powder - when making water solution of it. It is dangerous when inhaled! EtBr solution boils at 100C - hence little chances of inhaling it at room temp. Its permeation through unbroken cell membranes is very little if at all.

If you washed that away nothing should happen, even if your finger was irritated (BTW was that cut or something else?). If you fell that something is wrong just visit your doctor.

Anyway, you might have got rid of the gel as of other harmful waste (some say though that this concentration of EtBr may be put into the drain, but I don't think this is a good solution).

[hamid_v]

Originally Posted by Aga

I don't think so. The concentration you mentioned is potentially harmful when you are exposed frequently, quite frequently. The most harmful is EtBr powder - when making water solution of it. It is dangerous when inhaled! EtBr solution boils at 100C - hence little chances of inhaling it at room temp. Its permeation through unbroken cell membranes is very little if at all.

If you washed that away nothing should happen, even if your finger was irritated (BTW was that cut or something else?). If you fell that something is wrong just visit your doctor.

Anyway, you might have got rid of the gel as of other harmful waste (some say though that this concentration of EtBr may be put into the drain, but I don't think this is a good solution).

Really Tnx for reply

i have never touched the powder

i have 2 questions

1 ) my fingers have already scratched ( before touching the gel) so i`m more afraid about that


2 ) one anothet student (in our lab) keeps the Gel over gas cooker around 15minutes , The water was boiling but the gel didn`t get boil . thay might have any risk for us ?

as you know that was my first experience

i`m extremely sorry , i`m asking some different question because i`m real afraid & sad[/QUOTE]

[pigfarmer]

Whatever you were feeling was definately in your mind, I believe.

When I do agarose gels I handle them without gloves, and I don't worry about it, but other people, such as the guy boiling it in lab, shouldn't do that.

Its simply irresponsible (to me), that if there is something you don't consider dangerous(EtBr to me) to expose other poeple in your lab to it if they don't feel the same way.

[sweetsunil21]

dont worry pal
nothin will happen for tat
i have contacted(gel) many time s like tat


n coming to next, why is he boiling polymerised gel?

[jlf]

I'm not suggesting we start drinking ethidium bromide solution but there is a disproportionate paranoia in the community towards ethidium bromide. Mutagenicity has been shown in bacteria but recent studies suggest that ETBr does not have high mutagenicity and toxicity for higher organism. The acute toxicities for the safer alternatives in fact are higher. Considering the concentration of ETBr used in labs, there's hardly any need for hysteria. Just treat it with care like any chemical. There are a few resources on this topic, including blogs by Nick Oswald and Rosie Redfield, that might be interesting to read.

[mai-mb]

Don't worry!! Ive inhaled it from to much boiling, my P.I has been touching it without gloves for years and shes fine with two kids. Also where I now work someone got in a dispute over lab bench space and put etbr in someones water, the person got very ill but survived. Yes insane!! But don't worry your going to be fine no sadness or worry.!!!!

[YeastieBoy]

The argument "my P.I has been touching it without gloves for years and shes fine with two kids" is of course nonsense. I know people that are smoking for years and are still doing fine, which does not mean that smoking is harmless (majority of lung cancer patients are smokers).

[mmorgan]

Originally Posted by hamid_v

i have touched agrose gel which contain ethidium bromide ( this is my first time )
------

That was around 0.1 gram ethidium bromide in 100ML TAE buffer

i poured the gel in Sink , i drained some water over gel , and then i moved the gel to dustbin using newspaper ( Newspaper got wet because of that )

So i have touched the gel when i moved from sink to dustbin ,

i had a little irritation in a finger and i washed that fastly with out soap

So i want to know am i going to have any problem because of this act ?
Am i going to take cancer only for 1 time touch ?


Best Regards
Hamid

You'll be fine. Probably the psychological stress of worrying has caused you more harm than the EtBr would.

EtBr is thought to act as a mutagen by intercalating DNA which means it has to get INSIDE of cells to do damage. The surface of your skin is covered by a layer of dead cells, so unless you soaked your hand in EtBr for a good while I think there is no problem.

You should be wearing gloves and goggles when working in the lab though, because there are alot of chemicals that are much worse for you than EtBr (i.e. acrylamide, methanol, HCl).

Relative to the DNA damage done by a day on the beach touching an EtBr gel is negligible.

So remember to wear your gloves and goggles and don't eat any of the lab chemicals and you'll be fine.

[luisillo]

Ethidium bromide exposure should be as harmful as radiation exposure, not in the same way of course but as with radiation you should take in account this:

a) the ammount (or concentration in EtBr case) of the exposure
b) the frequency of the exposure

There are regulations in this regard for radiation but I don't know (but I think not) if there is regulation for EtBr use.