Biochemical

Education
Biochemical Education 27 (1999) 48 50

ELSEVIER

An inexpensive agarose gel electrophoresis system

David F. Betsch*, Jeff Berard
l)el>arlmeHlof ScieHce and 7i'chnologv, Bo'anl College, 1150 l)m~glas Pike, Smitl~/ield, RI 02917, USA

Abstract

This article describes the design and construction of an inexpensive apparatus for agarose gel electrophoresis. Thc gel unit
comprises an empty pipettc tip box fitted with aluminum loil electrodes. A schematic is also provided for a DC power supply
composed of simply a transformer and diodes. Photographic evidence is presented to document the resolution and utility of these
devices. 1999 IUBMB. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

One of the most signifcant advances in recombinant

.DNA technology was the introduction of agarosc gel
electrophoresis as a method for separating and analyzing
D N A fragments [1]. Commercial power supplies and gel
boxes are available from a number of suppliers and are
commonly used in biology, biochemistry, and molecular
biology teaching laboratories, even at the high-school
level. Budgetary constraints hamper educators in their
efforts to provide quality education for their students,
especially in science laboratory programs. An extremely
low-cost alternative to commercial agarose clectrophoresis units, that delivers results of equal quality, has
been described previously [2]. In this paper, we offcr a
similar unit with modifications that simplify construction
and suggest an alternative power supply.

2. Experimental

cthidium bromide (data not shown); many teachers

prefer to use methylene blue for the safety of their
students, due to the mutagenicity of ethidium bromide.
A quite satisfactory gel box can be made from an
empty pipette tip box (Fig. 1). We prefer those boxes
made with sturdy flexible plastic, having a hinged transparent lid, and having a removable tip rack. A suitable
c o m b can be cut from virtually any plastic sheet; ours
were fashioned from flexible plastic rulers. To cast a gel
in this box, prepare enough melted agarose solution to
cover the bottom of the box 1 cm deep [volume in
m l = l e n g t h ( c m ) w i d t h ( c m ) ] and place the comb
approximately 3 cm from one end of the box (Fig. 2).
After the gel hardens, remove the comb and, using a
knife edge, slice away 2 cm of gel from either end of the
box while ensuring that the sample wells remain intact.
Save these strips for preparing a subsequent gel; they can
be melted again in the microwave oven with no ill effect.
The electrodes for this gel box are made from 1-cm wide
strips of aluminum foil (Fig. 1). A small drop of rubber

The essential components for an agarose electrophoresis procedure arc the electrophoresis unit ('gel
box') and the DC power supply. In this paper, all gels arc
1% standard agarose in 1 T B E (0.089 M Tris, 0.089 M
boric acid, 2 mM NaeEDTA) prepared by boiling in a
microwave oven. The DNA samples are either H i n d l l I digested ), DNA, B s t E l l - d i g e s t e d ). DNA, or synthetic
PCR size reference markers (Boehringer Mannheim,
Germany), are stained with ethidium bromide incorporated into the cast gel at 0.5 llg/ml, and visualized
under UV light (308 nm). All results would be equally
successful using methylene blue staining instead of
~:('orresponding author.

Fig. 1. Gel box made from pipette box with hinged lid; aluminum foil
electrodes in place.

03117-4412/99/$19.00 + 0.00 1999 1UBMB. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights resmwcd.
PIt: S(131)7-44 12(98)11(~207-6

D.F. Betsch, J. Berard/Biochemical Educ~ltion 27 (1999) 48-50

49

Fig. 2. Placement of comb into melted gel. End-on view.

cement at cach corner of the bottom of the box will hold

the electrodes in place during the gel run. Allow this to
dry a few minutes, then add electrophoresis buffer to
cover the gel. Aluminum foil electrodes will disintegrate
after one gel run but they are inexpensive and simple to
replace before each new gel run. The electrodes are
connected to a power supply with clips. Our preferred
clips (Fig. 3) allow the gel to run with the lid closed for
maximum safety but any alligator-type clip will suffice.
The gel should not be run at greater than 45 V to avoid
overheating. Power supply 9-12 V DC adaptors are
commonly available to provide power to calculators,
personal audio equipment, etc. If they are rated above 50
mamps current, these can be used singly or in series,
connecting the positive lead of one unit to the negative
lead of the next (voltages are additive), to provide DC
power to a gel box. Nine-volt batteries wired in series can
also be used to power an electrophoresis experiment; in
our lab five batteries wired in series (45 V) were still

DC power

AI foil

II,~ trde
gel box

Fig. 3. Test clips used to connect power supply to aluminum foil

electrodes. Clips are thin enough to allow closing gel box lid during the
run.

step down
transformer
50VAC, 1 amp
(
Q
line input AC

(:
(

Fig. 5. Gel result. Odd numbered lanes are 1 itg of PCR size reference
DNA (lll0(I, 700, 500, 400, 300, 200, 100, 50 bp); even numbered lanes
arc 2 itg of BstEIl-digested 2 DNA size references (8454, 7242, 6369,
5686, 4822, 34324, 3675, 2323, 1929, 1371, 1264, 702, 224, 117).

delivering adequate performance after 24 h (about 6-8

individual gel runs).
A simple, inexpensive DC power supply that delivers
excellent results can be built from three parts (Fig. 4): a
transformer to isolate the supply from house current for
safety, a diode to rectify AC to DC, and a fuse (to protect
the clectrophoresis circuit from shorting or overload).
This DC power supply should be assembled by qualified
personnel. Our purpose in describing the construction is
to demonstratc the utility of such a simple power supply
design in electrophoresis experiments. Inexpensive stepdown transformers are readily available that produce
50-80 V AC at the secondary. The DC voltage after
rectification with the diode is 5()% of the AC voltage at
the secondary. The diode should have a vokage rating
greater than twice the AC voltage at the secondary.
Addition of a power switch and indicator light as shown
increase the safety for student operators. AC line
voltages, especially in countries with 240 V, are a significant safety concern for student laboratories. In addition,
the DC voltages used for electrophoresis are of lesser,
though significant, concern. Students should not attempt
to access the gel or buffer while the power supply is
connected and the gel box lid is closed. Thc power clips
used (Fig. 3) should be color codcd red (+) and black

200 mamp fuse

diode
200V

27.5V

DC

output

_g

Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of simple 27.5 V power supply.

Fig. 6. Gel result. Left-hand lane has I t~g, right-hand lane has 200 ng of
HindlII-digested ). DNA (23, 9.4, 6.6, 4.4, 2.3, 2.0 kb).

50

D.E Betsch, J. Berard/Biochemical Education 27 (1999) 48-50

( - ) and wired directly to the power supply output. The

entire power supply should be enclosed within a plastic
box, with the transformer frame suitably grounded.

3. Results and discussion

We have used our gel box with aluminum foil

electrodes and the power supply in Fig. 4 with good
results (see Fig. 5, Fig. 6). Note in Fig. 5 that the 700-bp
bands of the PCR reference lanes and the 702-bp bands
of the B s t E I I 2 lanes are in perfect alignment, despite the
obvious overloading of the even numbered lanes. The
resolution of small DNA fragments down to 50 bp is
quite good (Fig. 5) whereas, with a longer run, even
DNA fragments up to 10 kb can be separated (Fig. 6). If
the running voltage is kept below 4 V/cm in 1 x T B E
buffer, there is no problem with overheating and the
results rival those with commercial gel units costing over
$500, including the power supply. The aluminum foil

electrodes last through a single 4-h electrophoresis run,

more than enough to separate our DNA size references
and most samples a teaching lab would typically
encounter. Electrical safety is a concern with any elcctrophoresis procedure but agarose gels run at low voltages
are safe with reasonable caution on the part of the
operator. Students should be advised not to attempt to
access the gel boxes or touch the electrodes while the
power supplies are connected. Power supply assembly
should be conducted by an experienced technician and
operation supervised by an experienced instructor.
References

ll] P.A. Sharp, B. Sugden, J. Sambrook, Detection of two restriction

cndonuclease activities in Haemophilus parain[tuenzae using
analytical agarose-ethidium bromide electrophorcsis.
Biochemistry 12 (1973) 3055-3057.
[2] J.H. Walker, G.E. Blair, Agarosc gel electrophoresisof DNA using
aluminum electrodes and a 12 w)lt mains adaptor as power supply
unit. BiochemEducation 173 (1989) 150-151.