Bisbenzimide

Bisbenzimide is an organic compound used as a fluorescent stain for DNA in molecular biology applications. Several related chemical compounds are used for similar purposes and are collectively called Hoechst stains.

Application

Bisbenzimide tends to bind to adenine–thymine-rich regions of DNA and can decrease its density. Bisbenzimide mixed with DNA samples can then be used to separate DNA according to their AT percentage using a cesium chloride gradient centrifugation.
Image:Hoechst_33342_Stain_-_Platynereis_dumerilii_larvae.jpg|thumb|255px|left|upright|Nuclei of Platynereis dumerilii larvae stained with Hoechst 33342