Discover the fascinating world of gel electrophoresis with this beginner-friendly kit. Gain an in-depth understanding of the fundamentals of gel electrophoresis by comparing natural and synthetic dyes at the molecular level. Learn how to cast, run, and visualize agarose gels and unlock this valuable skill!

From a hands-on perspective, you’re going to: 

1. Make molten agarose gel by mixing agarose powder with 1x TAE buffer and boiling it to dissolve the agarose powder. This will be similar to making LB agar for growing cells, except as you’ll see you don’t have to worry about it foaming over!
   
   
2. You’ll set up your gel cast and pour your molten agarose into the cast, making sure to add the comb. You’ll let it cool and gel.
   
   
3. You’ll disassemble your cast, carefully remove the comb, and place the gel into the electrophoresis tank.
   
   
4. You’ll fill your electrophoresis tank with 1x TAE buffer. The buffer should be just barely over the gel. You’ll see the gel wells (created by the comb) fill with TAE buffer.
   
   
5. You’ll practice your pipetting by loading the gel with 10 uL (microlitres) of synthetic and natural dyes. You’ll have practice in trying not to poke the tip into the gel, and rather insert the tip just into the well and dispense the dye so it gently falls to the bottom of the well (you don’t need to have the tip right at the bottom of the well).
   
   
6. You’ll then put the lid on your electrophoresis tank, turn on your power supply, and run your gel at a voltage between 80 and 130 volts. The higher the voltage, the faster it runs. But sometimes running at a high voltage will cause your samples to blur!
   
   
7. Take pictures of your samples and interpret the data/image.