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6.5: Part III- Practice Pipetting

  • Page ID
    138999
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    While you are waiting for the restriction digest to incubate, you can practice loading samples into a practice gel.  As agarose gels are very easy to puncture through, it is important to have good technique for loading the samples.  As the gel wells are small, only push the micropipette to the FIRST stop to dispense the sample.  Purified DNA looks like water, so a colored dye is added to ensure that you can see the sample loading into the well.  Glycerol, a viscous liquid, is added to the loading dye to ensure that the DNA sample will sink to the bottom of the well.

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    Materials

    • P-20 micropipette 
    • Box of disposable pipette tips 
    • Waste container for used tips
    • Tube of colored dye/glycerol 
    • Agarose or polyurethane practice gel 
    • Agarose powder
    • Weigh boat
    • Spatula
    • Masking tape

    Method

    1. Watch the video or instructor demonstration.
    2. Submerge the practice gel with water or buffer.
    3. Practice loading 5 uL and 10 uL colored dye into several wells of a practice gel.  Do not change tips for this practice.
    4. Place your elbow on the table to steady your pipette hand. If needed, also use your other hand to support your pipette hand.

    This page titled 6.5: Part III- Practice Pipetting is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Donna Barron.

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