Written by: The Midland Certified Reagent Company
Summary: Electrophoresis is an important part of molecular analysis.
When a research institute wants to test how chemicals will react with something, they will need a certain volume of synthetic materials to work with. Polydeoxy, a duplex polymer used to form deoxynucleotides, is one such component. Similar to a primer, these polymers help facilitate a certain reaction with DNA or RNA.
Gel electrophoresis is a process used to analyze the range sizes and degree of polydisperity in certain materials like poly A or poly dA. It separates materials, analyzing them based on size and charge, which gives some data on the yield of a particular set of macromolecules. That tells researchers how much material they are buying, which is important in quantifying materials needed for experimentation.
How it Works
The process separates nucleic acid molecules, like poly A or poly dA, and it uses an electric field designed to repel negatively charged particles. The particles are dispelled through a polysaccharide gel or polymer. Agarose is a popular one to use, which is extracted from seaweed. When separation occurs, shorter molecules move farther than longer ones. The size helps smaller molecules maneuver through the gel easily in a process known as sieving.
Applications
The primary use of this process is in the analysis of materials that are used in DNA and RNA synthesis. Electrophoresis provides a fairly accurate estimate of molecular size, and is particularly useful in genetic fingerprinting. That means this technology has applications in forensics too.
What’s particularly amazing is that lab associates can watch this phenomenon as it occurs, using special cameras and UV lighting, but more accurate documentation is available through the use of computers.
Bio: The Midland Certified Reagent Company produces polymers, oligos and other materials used in research labs around the world. To order polydeoxy, including poly A or poly dA, contact the Midland Certified Reagent Company.