Cetyltrimethylammonium-bromide (CTAB) is a non-ionic detergent, which forms insoluble complexes with nucleic acids if the sodium chloride concentration in the solution is around 0.5 M. Polysaccharides, phenolic components and other enzyme-inhibiting impurities from lysates of plant cells can be effectively removed with the CTAB lysis buffer (1).
Contains 2 % CTAB, 20 mM EDTA·Na₂·2H₂O, 1.4 M NaCl and 100 mM Tris, pH 8.

1. Ed. Ausubel et al., (2001) Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Greene Publishing & Wiley-Interscience Inc. (New York, NY), Suppl. 45, 2.3.5