What is the Difference Between Guanidine Thiocyanate and Guanidine Hydrochloride

The key difference between guanidine thiocyanate and guanidine hydrochloride is that guanidine thiocyanate is a stronger protein denaturant that is more commonly used in RNA isolation, while guanidine hydrochloride is a weaker protein denaturant that is less commonly used in RNA isolation.

Denaturation is the process in which proteins lose their quaternary structure, tertiary structure, and secondary structure that is normally present in their native state. It can be done by the application of some external stress or compounds such as a strong acid or base, a concentrated inorganic salt, an organic solvent (alcohol, chloroform), agitation, radiation, or heat. Guanidine thiocyanate and guanidine hydrochloride are two different types of protein denaturants.

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Guanidine Thiocyanate
3. What is Guanidine Hydrochloride
4. Similarities – Guanidine Thiocyanate and Guanidine Hydrochloride
5. Guanidine Thiocyanate vs Guanidine Hydrochloride in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Guanidine Thiocyanate vs Guanidine Hydrochloride

What is Guanidine Thiocyanate?

Guanidine thiocyanate (GTC) is a stronger protein denaturing agent that is more commonly used in RNA isolation. It is also known as guanidinium isothiocyanate (GITC). Being a chaotropic agent, it is a chemical compound routinely used as a general protein denaturant. A chaotropic agent is a molecule in a water solution that can disrupt the hydrogen bonding network between water molecules. This has an effect on the stability of the native state of other molecules in the solution, such as macromolecules like proteins and nucleic acids by weakening the hydrophobic effect. Chaotropic agents like guanidine thiocyanate reduce the amount of order in the structure of protein formed by water molecules both in bulk and hydration shells around hydrophobic amino acids. This may cause protein denaturation.

Guanidine thiocyanate can be used to deactivate viruses such as influenza that cause diseases like the Spanish flu in 1918. Therefore, it can be used in medical or hospital setups. Furthermore, Guanidine thiocyanate is also used to lyse cells and virus particles in RNA and DNA extractions. Here, the function of guanidine thiocyanate is to aid lysing action and to prevent the activity of RNase enzymes and DNase enzymes by denaturing. These enzymes would otherwise damage the extract (RNA or DNA).

What is Guanidine Hydrochloride?

Guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) is a weaker protein denaturant that is less commonly used in RNA isolation. It is also known as guanidinium chloride (GdmCl). It is the hydrochloride salt of guanidine. Guanidine hydrochloride is chaotropic and one of the denaturants used in the physicochemical studies of protein folding.

Guanidine Thiocyanate vs Guanidine Hydrochloride in Tabular Form

Figure 01: Guanidine Hydrochloride

Guanidine hydrochloride also has the ability to decrease enzyme activity and increase the solubility of hydrophobic molecules. Normally, at higher concentrations of guanidine hydrochloride, proteins lose their ordered structure. Proteins tend to become randomly coiled at this concentration of guanidine hydrochloride. In medical or hospital setups, guanidine hydrochloride is indicated for the reduction of the symptoms of muscle weakness and easy fatigability associated with the disease Eaton-Lambert syndrome. Furthermore, side effects of using guanidine hydrochloride may include peristalsis, diarrhoea, and fatal bone marrow suppression.

What are the Similarities Between Guanidine Thiocyanate and Guanidine Hydrochloride?

Guanidine thiocyanate and guanidine hydrochloride are two different types of protein denaturants.
Both denaturants have guanidine in their structures.
They are chaotropic agents.
Both denaturants can be used for RNA isolation.
They are both used in medical or hospital setups.

What is the Difference Between Guanidine Thiocyanate and Guanidine Hydrochloride?

Guanidine thiocyanate is a stronger protein denaturant agent that is more commonly used in RNA isolation, while guanidine hydrochloride is a weaker protein denaturant that is less commonly used in RNA isolation. Thus, this is the key difference between guanidine thiocyanate and guanidine hydrochloride. Furthermore, the chemical formula of guanidine thiocyanate is C₂H₆N₄S, while the chemical formula of guanidine hydrochloride is CH₅N₃.HCl.

The below infographic presents the differences between guanidine thiocyanate and guanidine hydrochloride in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Guanidine Thiocyanate vs Guanidine Hydrochloride

Guanidine thiocyanate and guanidine hydrochloride are two different types of protein denaturants. Both denaturants are chaotropes. Guanidine thiocyanate is a stronger protein denaturant agent that is more commonly used in RNA isolation, while guanidine hydrochloride is a weaker protein denaturant that is less commonly used in RNA isolation. So, this summarizes the difference between guanidine thiocyanate and guanidine hydrochloride.

Reference:

1. “Guanidinium Thiocyanate.” An Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.
2“Guanidine Hydrochloride.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Database, U.S. National Library of Medicine.