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Simple protocol for secondary school hands‐on activity: Electrophoresis of pre‐stained nucleic acids on agar‐agar borate gels
Author(s) -
Britos Leticia,
Goyenola Guillermo,
Oroño Silvia Umpiérrez
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
biochemistry and molecular biology education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.34
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1539-3429
pISSN - 1470-8175
DOI - 10.1002/bmb.2004.494032050398
Subject(s) - agarose , nucleic acid , agarose gel electrophoresis , context (archaeology) , electrophoresis , protocol (science) , agar , computer science , chromatography , agar plate , agar gel , biochemical engineering , chemistry , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , dna , biochemistry , engineering , genetics , bacteria , medicine , paleontology , alternative medicine , pathology
An extremely simple, inexpensive, and safe method is presented, which emulates nucleic acids isolation and electrophoretic analysis as performed in a research environment, in the context of a secondary school hands‐on activity. The protocol is amenable to an interdisciplinary approach, taking into consideration the electrical and chemical parameters of the electrophoretic system. Furthermore, the laboratory is framed in a more comprehensive pedagogical setting, which addresses the methodological aspects of a pivotal scientific enterprise such as the Human Genome Project. In this setting, the hands‐on activity is complemented with animations, paper models, and discussions. Additionally, our results indicate that the use of borate buffer and agar‐agar gels suits many of the experiments included in college‐level laboratory activities, which currently make use of more expensive agarose gels and TBE or TAE buffers.