Your students will gain experience with the principles and practice of gel electrophoresis without the extra time and expense of running DNA.
Includes: Prepared solutions of four dyes in water/glycerol:
- Xylene cyanol
- Orange G
- Bromophenol blue
- Methyl green
- plus two "unknown" mixtures
Due to differing polarity, load these dyes into the central well of the gel.
The first three are negatively charged and migrate to the positive electrode, but Methyl Green carries a positive charge and migrates to the negative electrode.
Glycerol in the solvent increases the density of the solutions so they sink into the wells and behave more like micro-samples of DNA mixed with buffered loading dye.
Since the dyes are visible in the gel, your students will observe the entire separation process as it unfolds, and no extra staining step is required.
Suggested activities include deducing the components of dye mixtures and comparing the rate of migration at different voltage settings.
Volume supplied = approx 450uL of each dye solution (0.2% w/v), plus two vials containing different dye mixtures (approx 450uL each).
Notes:
- This item is to be stored at room temperature.
- If running electrophoresis of dyes with the blueGel unit, simply place a piece of white paper under the buffer chamber to make the colours easier to see.
You will need a micropipette with 10uL capacity, such as:
- Variable 2-20uL
- Variable 5-50uL
- Students' fixed volume 10uL
All of which take yellow 2-20uL
OR
Variable 0.5-10uL
Fixed volume 10uL
Which take white 0.5-10uL tips
