Guanidine thiocyanate

Guanidine thiocyanate is a potent inhibitor of nucleases and a powerful denaturant of proteins. It is used for RNA isolation due to its strong chaotropic properties, which effectively denature RNase enzymes in samples, ensuring RNA stability and purity during extraction processes. Nucleic acid extraction buffers containing guanidine thiocyanate effectively deactivate high-titer polioviruses found in potentially infectious materials.