Product name:Guanidine thiocyanate
CAS:593-84-0
Molecular Formula:CH5N3.CHNS
Formula Weight:118.16
Specification:100g
Description:
Guanidinium thiocyanate (GITC) is a chemical compound that can be used to deactivate a virus, such as the influenza virus that caused the 1918 'Spanish flu' so that it can be studied safely. Note: this compound may also be recognized as guanidine thiocyanate. This is because guanidinium is the conjugate acid of guanidine and is called the guanidinium cation, [CH6N3]+.
As a chaotropic agent, it is also used as a general protein denaturant, which is presumably the mechanism for its aforementioned application in humans. The detailed chemistry of its protein denaturant activity is discussed in a fairly recent PNAS paper.
Guanidinium thiocyanate is also used to lyse cells and virus particles in RNA and DNA extractions, where its function, in addition to its lysing action is to prevent activity of RNase enzymes and DNase enzymes by denaturing them. These enzymes would otherwise damage the extract.