Urea can be used for the denaturation of proteins and as a mild solubilization agent for insoluble or denatured proteins.

Tromethamine can be used in biopharmaceutical buffer formulations (both upstream and downstream), electrophoresis separations and diagnostic reagent formulations. Tromethamine is especially useful in downstream purification processes.

Guanidine hydrochloride has commonly been used for the isolation of RNA, to denature globular proteins and for protein refolding studies. It can also be used to facilitate the generation of tryptic peptides for analysis of complex protein samples.

Guanidine Thiocyanate has commonly been used for the isolation of RNA, to denature globular proteins and for protein refolding studies. It can also be used to facilitate the generation of tryptic peptides for analysis of complex protein samples.