Dithiothreitol (DTT)

Dithiothreitol, also known as DTT and Cleland’s reagent, is a reducing agent used to stabilize or denature enzymes and other proteins. DTT reduces disulfide bonds to their corresponding thiols. At low concentrations, it can stabilize enzymes with free sulfhydryl groups, while at higher concentrations, DTT can cleave disulfide linkages in polypeptides and facilitate protein denaturation. DTT is therefore used for protein studies such as isolation, purification, and characterization of enzymes, for determining the location of disulfide groups, for reducing protein disulfide bonds prior to SDS-PAGE, and for DNA extraction prior to amplification. DTT can also be used to break apart the matrix of a polyacrylamide gel. DTT is less pungent and is less toxic than 2-mercaptoethanol. Both enantiomers of DTT are reactive and it is therefore used as a racemic mixture. Visit the supplier page for more product information.