Preparing The Gel; Section 2 Setting Up - Thermo Scientific A2-OK Operating And Maintenance Manual

Section 2
Setting Up
2-2 Horizontal System
Preparing the gel - Using electrophoresis-grade agarose and compatible
electrophoresis buffer the gel may be prepared in various ways. The
percentage of agarose and the electrophoretic buffer used is determined by
the size of the samples to be separated and further recovery of the samples.
The agarose and buffer are mixed and heated over a heat source, in a
microwave oven, or in an autoclave until the agarose is completely
dissolved. The prepared gel then must be cooled to below 60° 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 placed in a covered bottle stored between 40°-60° in a water
bath. This provides a ready gel supply in a warm liquid form that will
solidify quickly when gels are cast.
Pour or pipet warm agarose (<60°). Immediately after pouring, insert the
desired comb or combs into the comb slots to form the sample wells. If
only a small portion of gel is required for proper sample separation,
multiple combs may be used to run 1 or 2 sets of equal distance samples
simultaneously expanding the number of samples per gel that may be run.
Repeat for up to 6 gels (3 per external multiple gel caster).
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