Protein Sample Preparation for SDS-PAGE: Reduces disulfide bonds to denature proteins prior to electrophoresis.

Maintaining Reduced Protein Thiols: Prevents oxidation of cysteine residues during protein purification and storage.

Enzyme Stabilization and Assays: Preserves activity of cysteine-dependent enzymes by maintaining a reducing environment.

PCR and qPCR: Enhances polymerase stability and activity in amplification reactions by providing a reducing agent.

Reverse Transcription and RNA Workflows: Protects RNA by inactivating RNases and stabilizing reverse transcriptases.

Proteomics Sample Prep: Reduces disulfide bonds prior to alkylation (e.g., with iodoacetamide) for mass spectrometry analysis.

Cell and Tissue Lysis Buffers: Included in extraction buffers to prevent oxidative modification of proteins.

Refolding and Renaturation Studies: Controls redox state during protein folding experiments, often with glutathione redox pairs.

Thiol Modification Reactions: Generates free thiols for conjugation, labeling, and crosslinking chemistries.

Storage of Sensitive Reagents: Added to buffers to prolong shelf-life of oxidation-prone biomolecules.