Guanidine hydrochloride

Guanidine hydrochloride (CAS 50-01-1), also known as guanidinium chloride or GuHCl, is a strong protein denaturant and chaotropic salt.

Where is Guanidine hydrochloride used?

• Biopharmaceutical manufacturing: solubilizes inclusion bodies during recombinant protein production, enabling downstream refolding into active drug substances
• Protein denaturation studies and urea-alternative unfolding assays: standard chaotropic agent in concentrated solutions
• Nucleic acid extraction: lyses cells and inactivates RNases, protecting RNA and DNA integrity during isolation
• Cosmetic formulators use it at low concentrations as a conditioning and preservation-supporting agent in hair and scalp treatments.

Good to know: It disrupts hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions in proteins, making it a critical reagent wherever controlled protein unfolding or solubilization is required.

Commercial specifications

• High-purity reagent-grade and molecular biology-grade specifications