Tetracycline hydrochloride

Yellow to orange powder. Soluble in water (10 mg/ml), DMSO, methanol or 0.1 N HCl (10 mg/ml). Tetracycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that prevents bacterial growth by inhibiting protein synthesis. It binds to a single site in the 30S ribosomal subunit which prevents attachment of aminoacyl tRNA to the ribosomal acceptor site. It is used in cell biology as a selective agent in cell culture systems. Tetracycline is toxic to prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and selects for cells harboring the bacterial tetR gene, which are resistant to the antibiotic.