faq

Q:	At what voltage should I run an agarose gel?
A:	We recommend running agarose gels at 4–10 volts/cm (cm is determined by measuring the interelectrode distance, not the gel length) under normal horizontal electrophoretic conditions. If the voltage is too high, band streaking, especially for DNA >15 kb, may result. When the voltage is too low, the mobility of small (<1,000 bp) DNA is reduced and band broadening will occur due to diffusion. MetaPhor™ Agarose Gels separate DNA optimally at 4.5–5 volts/cm in standard horizontal electrophoresis systems. Higher voltages result in a decrease in the resolution of DNA separation, mainly due to gel overheating. Another special case is the separation of large (>15 kb) DNA fragments using conventional horizontal electrophoresis. The best separations in this instance are obtained at a voltage gradient of <5 volts/cm.

At what voltage should I run an agarose gel?

We recommend running agarose gels at 4–10 volts/cm (cm is determined by measuring the interelectrode distance, not the gel length) under normal horizontal electrophoretic conditions.

If the voltage is too high, band streaking, especially for DNA >15 kb, may result.

When the voltage is too low, the mobility of small (<1,000 bp) DNA is reduced and band broadening will occur due to diffusion.

MetaPhor™ Agarose Gels separate DNA optimally at 4.5–5 volts/cm in standard horizontal electrophoresis systems.

Higher voltages result in a decrease in the resolution of DNA separation, mainly due to gel overheating. Another special case is the separation of large (>15 kb) DNA fragments using conventional horizontal electrophoresis. The best separations in this instance are obtained at a voltage gradient of <5 volts/cm.

Categories:

Electrophoreses and Analysis

Research Areas:

Molecular Biology