Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside

Like allolactose, IPTG binds to the lac repressor and releases the tetrameric repressor from the lac operator in an allosteric manner, thereby allowing the transcription of genes in the lac operon, such as the gene coding for beta-galactosidase, a hydrolase enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of β-galactosides into monosaccharides. But unlike allolactose, the sulfur (S) atom creates a chemical bond which is non-hydrolyzable by the cell, preventing the cell from metabolizing or degrading the inducer. Therefore, its concentration remains constant during an experiment.

IPTG uptake by E. coli can be independent of the action of lactose permease, since other transport pathways are also involved. At low concentration, IPTG enters cells through lactose permease, but at high concentrations (typically used for protein induction), IPTG can enter the cells independently of lactose permease.

When stored as a powder at 4 °C or below, IPTG is stable for 5 years. It is significantly less stable in solution; Sigma recommends storage for no more than a month at room temperature. IPTG is an effective inducer of protein expression in the concentration range of 100 μmol/L to 3.0 mmol/L. Typically, a sterile, filtered 1 mol/L solution of IPTG is added 1:1000 to an exponentially growing bacterial culture, to give a final concentration of 1 mmol/L. The concentration used depends on the strength of induction required, as well as the genotype of cells or plasmid used. If lacI^q, a mutant that over-produces the lac repressor, is present, then a higher concentration of IPTG may be necessary.

In blue-white screen, IPTG is used together with X-gal. Blue-white screen allows colonies that have been transformed with the recombinant plasmid rather than a non-recombinant one to be identified in cloning experiments.