General Instructions; Setting Up The System And Pouring The Agarose Gel - VWR PerfectBlue Maxi S Instruction Manual

Instruction Manual PerfectBlue

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Setting up the system and pouring the agarose gel

1. Remove the lid from the gel box by holding the front of the buffer chamber with one hand and pull-
ing the lid off by holding the center of the back of the lid.
2. Slide the gasketed End Gates into the outermost grooves on either side of the gel tray. The End
Gates should be inserted tightly into the grooves with the gasket side facing out. Insert the sealed gel
tray into the buffer chamber and level the system by using the integrated three-point adjustable lev-
eling platform with bubble level.
Optional: The gel tray can be subdivided by a wall comb available as an accessory to pour shorter
gels. The wall comb should be sealed with 2 % agarose before pouring the real gel.
Alternatively, a casting dam available as accessory can be used for this purpose. This aluminum bar
can be inserted at any position into the gel tray. Due to the optimal fitting and the heat conductance
of the material neither adhesive tape nor concentrated agarose is required for sealing by using the
casting dams.
3. Use electrophoresis-grade agarose and compatible electrophoresis buffer to prepare the gel. The
percentage of agarose and the buffer to be used is determined by the size of the samples to be sep-
arated and further recovery of the samples (see 'REQUIRED REAGENTS & RECIPES'). The agarose
and buffer are mixed and heated over a heat plate by stirring or in a microwave oven until the
agarose is completely dissolved.
4. The prepared gel then must be cooled to below 60 °C before casting to avoid warping the UVT gel
tray due to excessive heat. If numerous gels are to be run in one day, a large volume of gel may be
prepared and be placed in a covered bottle stored 60 °C in a water bath.
5. Pour or pipette the measured amount (see 'Agarose: Gel volumes and percentage') of warm
agarose (< 60 °C) onto the UVT gel tray that has been placed into the correct position in the gel
box. Immediately after pouring, insert the desired comb or combs into the comb slots to form the
sample wells. Standard agarose should solidify completely in about 30 minutes. If low melting
agarose or a specialty agarose is used, please consult the instructions that came with the product.
VWR_v0617_E
Horizontal Maxi Gel Systems
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