Gel Electrophoresis
Pour 100 mL of 1X TAE Buffer into an Erlenmeyer Flask.
Weigh out 1 g Agarose and add it to the Erlenmeyer Flask.
Place Erlenmeyer Flask in a microwave on high power for two minutes or until solution is clear and agarose is completely dissolved, occasionally stirring.
Remove Erlenmeyer Flask from microwave and let it sit on the lab bench to cool just until you can comfortably pick it up.
Place gel tray on clamp and clamp securely.
Add well plates where you want wells and use a level to ensure it is balanced.
Pour contents of the Erlemeyer Flask into the gel tray and let it sit for 10 minutes, or until solid.
Remove the well plates carefully as to not tear the gel and remove the tray from the clamp, but ensure the gel remains in the tray.
Place gel tray into gel electrophoresis apparatus with the wells closer to the negative/black end.
Pour additional TAE Buffer to fill each side of the apparatus and to create a thin layer of buffer covering the top of the gel.
Pipette 5 uL of the 1kb DNA Ladder with Loading Dye into a well.
Typically this is placed into one of the wells near an edge.
Pipette your DNA, approximately 20 uL, with Loading Dye mixture into another well.
Repeat for each sample.
Place lid on apparatus and plug cables into amplifier.
Set amplifier to stay at a constant voltage of 70 V. Let run for 45 minutes or until the loading dye has sufficiently moved.
Remove gel from gel tray after draining excess TAE Buffer.
Place gel into a bin with 1% Ethidium Bromide, ensuring the solution does not come into contact with skin.
Clean all surfaces that may have come in contact with ethidium bromide, place gloves in a bin labelled "Ethidium Bromide", and wash hands repeatedly afterwards.
Let gel sit for 15 minutes.
Carefully removing the gel, to avoid splashes, place on top of a UV light source with a camera.
In as short a time as is possible, turn on the UV light to capture a photograph of the gel.
Remove band if purifying DNA.
Otherwise, carefully dispose of the gel into a wastebin labelled "Ethidium Bromide".
