General Instructions; Setting Up The System And Pouring The Agarose Gel - VWR Peqlab PerfectBlue Mini 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. For shipping and convenient storage, the gel tray is packaged inside the unit upon arrival. This is
also the correct 90 ° tray position for casting a gel. To remove the gel tray, hold the unit firmly with
one hand; grasp the long sides of the UVT gel tray and pull up slowly at an angle. The tray needs to
fit snug for leak proof gel casting, so it may seem somewhat tight. 'Walking' the tray upwards at an
angle may be helpful.
3. To cast a gel, place the gel tray into the chamber so that the gasketed ends press against the walls
of the buffer chamber. Make sure the gel tray is pressed all the way down and rests level on the
unit's platform. Moistening the rubber gaskets of the gel tray may facilitate the placement into the
chamber. Similarly the gel trays can be sealed in optional casting chambers.
Optional: The wall comb available for Mini L and Mini L 'Revolution' allows you to sub-divide the
gel tray in order to cast shorter gels. The wall comb should be sealed with 2 % agarose before pour-
ing the gel.
4. 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.
5. The prepared gel must then 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 between 40 - 60 °C in a water bath.
6. Pour or pipette the correct amount (see 'Agarose: Gel volumes and percentage') of warm agarose
(< 60 °C) onto the UVT gel tray that has been placed into the casting position in the gel box. Imme-
diately 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 point or a specialty
agarose is used, consult the instructions that came with the product.
VWR_v0617_E
Horizontal Mini Gel Systems
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