Bleomycin Hydrochloride

Bleomycin hydrochloride is a member of the bleomycin/ferrimycin antibiotic family. It is a water-soluble, copper ion-chelating glycoprotein antibiotic isolated from Streptomyces verticillus, and the solution appears blue due to the presence of copper ions. This copper ion-chelated form is inactive. When the antibiotic enters the cell, Cu²⁺ is reduced to Cu⁺ and removed by thiol compounds within the cell. At this point, bleomycin hydrochloride becomes activated and binds to DNA, inducing DNA cleavage and cell death. The bleomycin resistance gene (Sh ble) encodes a protein that can bind to bleomycin hydrochloride and inhibit its DNA cleavage activity.

Bleomycin hydrochloride has a broad spectrum of activity, exhibiting strong antimicrobial effects against bacteria, fungi (including yeasts), plants, and mammalian cells. Therefore, bleomycin hydrochloride is commonly used as a highly effective selectable antibiotic to screen for cell lines carrying the Sh ble resistance gene, which expresses a 13.665 kDa bleomycin resistance protein.

This product is provided as a sterile solution in ultrapure water, with a concentration of 100 mg/mL, suitable for cell culture use.

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