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Gel Electrophoresis

            Gel electrophoresis is a process in which nucleic acids or other proteins are separated by way of an electrical current on the basis of size or weight. In gel electrophoresis DNA is cut to fragments by use of a special type of enzyme known as restriction endonuclease (such as EcoR1 and HindIII the enzymes used in our lab) of varying lengths. The restriction enzymes cut the DNA in what are called staggered cuts; cuts that are offset yet still divide the DNA into half with two long strands and two short strands called sticky ends. Then the DNA fragments are mixed with TBE buffer and this solution is placed in a thick gel composed of agarose and a polyacrylamide. Dissolving agarose powder in boiling water and then the letting the mixture creates a gel much the same as that found in Jell-O; a gel that hardens as it cools. Before the gel hardens, a comb is placed in the mixture. This comb creates "wells" in the gel that will be used to hold the DNA fragments After this, an electric current is applied to the gel creating a one end to have a positive charge and the other end to have a negative one. Since DNA contains a negative charge the fragments are attracted to the positive end. The smaller fragments move faster then the larger fragments. When the current shuts off the DNA fragments are spread across the gel with the longer fragments farthest away from the positive end and the shortest ends closest to it. The ideal gel and the results of our lab differed. This is because the "ideal gel" was denser which results in better separation. To obtain the same results as the "ideal gel we would have required more agarose solution.The fragments form a pattern almost resembling a bar code, each bar containing DNA fragments of a certain size. The location of these fragments indetify specific restriction fragments for scientists. Gel Electrphoresis is commonly used in law to prove whether suspects were present in a crime scene or not.


Essays Related to Gel Electrophoresis

1. Electrophoresis

... often performed in the presence of a charged detergent like sodium dodecyl sulfate, which usually equalizes the surface charge and, therefore, allows for the determination of protein sizes on a single gel. Electrophoresis is widely used to identify and measure the albumin, globulin, and fibrinogen fractions present in the blood. Albumin is a heat coagulating (clotting) protein, globulin is spherical proteins, and fibrinogen ... biology and is of critical value in many aspects of genetic manipulation and study. One use is the identification of particular DNA molecules by the band pattern...

  • Word Count: 1589
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Electrophoresis

... often performed in the presence of a charged detergent like sodium dodecyl sulfate, which usually equalizes the surface charge and, therefore, allows for the determination of protein sizes on a single gel. Electrophoresis is widely used to identify and measure the albumin, globulin, and fibrinogen fractions present in the blood. Albumin is a heat coagulating (clotting) protein, globulin is spherical proteins, and fibrinogen ... biology and is of critical value in many aspects of genetic manipulation and study. One use is the identification of particular DNA molecules by the band pattern...

  • Word Count: 1595
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Separating Biological Macromolecules by Agarose Gel Electrop

... . Agarose and acrylamide gels are the media commonly used for electrophoresis. In this experiment, we used agarose gel to act as a molecular sieve. Theory There are many types of electrophoresis. I have listed 10 of them with their description below. SDS-PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis): SDS is one of the most common types of electrophoresis. SDS is a detergent, which denatures proteins by binding to ... protein. Here, the native charge on the protein (divided by its mass) determines how fast the protein will travel and in what direction. Electrofocusing G...

  • Word Count: 1328
  • Approx Pages: 5

4. Electrophoresis

I. The separation of native proteins by electrophoresis using agarose gel as a medium II. The purpose of this experiment was to see which direction certain proteins will migrate according to ... the many polypeptide chains in a variety of noncovalent bonds. As stated in the beginning, the purpose of this experiment is to use electrophoresis to separate proteins. Electrophoresis is the movement of charged molecules under the influence of an electric field. Since proteins and amino acids are charged molecules, when they ... are placed into an electric field they will migrate depending on the pH...

  • Word Count: 858
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Experiment - Genetically Modified Foods

... sequence in a simple reaction with the proper primers(2). The ability to amplify these DNA sequence allows scientists to further analyze these DNA sequence using gel-electrophoresis. By measuring the length of base pairs, foods can be distinguished from conventional food or GM food. PCR has been found to be appropriate ... the Master Mix is functioning properly. The 6 solutions are placed in a freezer to allow the reaction to go through. To set up for electrophoresis, the gel is placed in the chamber and filled with buffer. Add 10uL of Orange loading dye into each sample. Load 15uL of sol...

  • Word Count: 1122
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. The Cystic Fibrosis Gene

... known to travel with genetic disorders.3 The RFLP for cystic fibrosis was discovered through the techniques of Somatic Cell Hybridization and through Southern Blot Electrophoresis (gel separation of DNA). By using these techniques, three RFLP's were discovered for CF; Doc RI, J3.11, and Met. Utilizing in situ ... sequence obtained from chromosome jumping. To get these probes, DNA from a horse, a cow, a chicken, and a mouse were separated using Southern Blot electrophoresis. Four probes were found to bind to all of the vertebrate's DNA. This meant that the base pairs within the probes dis...

  • Word Count: 2162
  • Approx Pages: 9

7. The Transformation of Bacterial DNA

... did not use any RNAse or other enzymes to degrade it. The following week involved the use of electrophoresis to separate sample components and isolated the GFP protein. When preparing the gel the 1% concentrated gel is used because it is easier to handle. We also used a DNA loading buffer to add color to ... our samples, for better visibility, and also to weigh it down so it wouldn't run off of the gel. The process of loading the sample was shown to us, and with the help of the instructor I believe I did it correctly. If I had not, ... it would skew the results. The samples were loaded...

  • Word Count: 811
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Microsatellites In DNA

... long, but must be repeated at least 30 times for effective amplification. The newly made DNA is then ran through electrophoresis. This is a process which separates DNA, RNA and proteins by size or charge. The sample was placed in an argarase gel. The sample is then ran through 50-60 V for 2 hours. Because 3 primer sets were used there will be 3-6 bands visible ... or why they have brown hair. Microsatellites, minisatellites and satellites all cause mutation in gene sequences. Because of the functionality of electrophoresis people can now see how the different genes separate. The size an...

  • Word Count: 1018
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

9. DNA Fingerprinting

... became used to identify criminals through the analysis of genetic material and to settle paternity disputes. It is still used for those reasons today. The DNA fingerprinting process is called gel electrophoresis. It is a process that can sort pieces of DNA according to its size. The process is done by taking samples of DNA from the crime scene and comparing it with ... accused. Samples are taken from biological materials like blood, semen, hair, and saliva. In the testing process the DNA samples are first entered into the wells in a gel like substance called Agarose. The gel is placed b...

  • Word Count: 956
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

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