Diethylaminoethyl cellulose

Diethylaminoethyl cellulose
Schematic structure of DEAE: positively charged DEAE groups can bind negative ions

Diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DEAE or DEAE-C) is a positively charged resin used in ion exchange chromatography, a type of column chromatography, used in protein and nucleic acid purification/separation. Gel matrix beads are derivatized with DEAE and lock negatively charged proteins or nucleic acids into the matrix, until released by increasing the salt concentration of the solvent. DE52 has a pKa of 11.5.

DEAE-Dextran (DEAE-D) is also used for transfecting animal cells with foreign DNA. It is added to solution containing DNA meant for transfection. It binds and interacts with negatively charged DNA molecules and via a largely unknown mechanism brings about the uptake of nucleic acids by the cell. This procedure is highly suited for transient transfection used for various molecular biology studies.

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