DIY $25 Gel Box

The Gel-Electrophoresis-Machine is constructed by creating a chamber that holds an electrolyte(salt water) that allows the conduction of electricity. A potential would be applied across it. Within, an agarose gel is placed and this also experiences the potential applied on the ends of the chamber. In the gel are wells containing substances of interest that have a know charge. Potential is applied in order to pull the substance through the agarose gel. It is apparent that the smaller molecules would travel further through the gel than the larger molecules. Thus, with a ladder-a set of molecules with known DNA lengths or molecule size, comparison would allow us to determine the length/size of the molecule of interest.

We constructed a functional Gel Electrophoresis Chamber in a span of a day using :

Materials:

1.Plexiglass

2.Teflon

3.Banana Jacks

4.Banana Plugs

5.Black and red Test Lead Wire

6.Copper wire

7.Heat shrinking tubing, one black and one red

The Materials used: &lt;gallery&gt;

&lt;/gallery&gt;

June 1st
Gel Electrophoresis using Food Dyes:

Once we had constructed the Electrophoresis machine, we put it to test. We took 3 food dyes and created their respective solutions. We placed them in the wells and ran the machine for close to 50 minutes. Unfortunately, our samples flowed in the wrong direction. Since we were unable to determine which dye had which charge and which wire was +ve or -ve, we had to improvise. We placed the wells in the center of the gel and decided to let the dyes flow in either direction.

&lt;gallery&gt;

&lt;/gallery&gt;

Useful Links
How to make DIY Gel: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/labs/gel/electrophoresis/ Excellent DIY instruction: teach.genetics.utah.edu/content/build_gel_box.pdf How to prepare Gel: http://m.instructables.com/id/How-to-Prepare-an-Electrophoresis-Argarose-Gel/step3/Cast-the-Gel/

mac giver staaayle:

http://www.scq.ubc.ca/the-macgyver-project-genomic-dna-extraction-and-gel-electrophoresis-experiments-using-everyday-materials/