Electrophoresis Kits

[bigmack]

Just wondering how your set-up has endured, bigmack?

We've used it 4 or 5 times so far .
One tray did develop a slight leak which I think was due to a printing issue .Otherwise they are all working fine .

The dodgy looking Power supplies are still working , but I did manage to squeeze enough from the budget to buy one real one .I hope to be able to replace a few more .

[Marama T]

I am amazed! And now feeling slightly inadequate.

[RosalieL]

Bigmack - I have an appointment on Thursday to talk to my principal (who is also the D&T teacher) to discuss 3D printing one (or more) of these. What info do I need to take in with me to build my case?

[bigmack]

Bigmack - I have an appointment on Thursday to talk to my principal (who is also the D&T teacher) to discuss 3D printing one (or more) of these. What info do I need to take in with me to build my case?

Hi Rosalie
I guess its a matter of Cost verses skills and time .
also how many do you intend to have ?
I ended up buying "proper" Powers supplies to replace the home made ones .
This one was the cheapest and can run 3 chambers .

Power Supply.png

To make the chambers your self , you'll need to download the 3D STL file and print the cases . Then you need a piece of 2-3mm Perspex cut for the bottom .My TAS folk (D&P) had it cut on the laser cutter in about 5 minutes .Then I just needed to glue it in the bottom with silicone .

The electrodes can be as simple as a piece of wire but they tend to do funky stuff so I made the carbon blocks .A bit of effort with a hacksaw and a file , bit not hard at all .

Your Principal may look at it and find $500-700 per box is a lot easier to find than a few of his hours .

I just noticed these are now available . They include a USB powered Power supply .
so if your school is small , a couple of these might be a viable alternative .

Electrophoresis.png

You will also need to get a set of Dyes . I think Southern Bio sell them for around$30 .You will get many goes from them so long as the Kids don't spill or cross contaminate them . You will also need to buy some Micro Pipettes if you don't have any .10uL ones .

I would strongly recommend going Dye Electrophorsis as apposed to Using real DNA samples as these are bloody expensive , have a short shelf life , require expensive Agarose , dying ,washing and take more time to run .Every teacher that used real DNA cried .

[RosalieL]

Bigmack - I have an appointment on Thursday to talk to my principal (who is also the D&T teacher) to discuss 3D printing one (or more) of these. What info do I need to take in with me to build my case?

Hi Rosalie
I guess its a matter of Cost verses skills and time .
also how many do you intend to have ?
I would strongly recommend going Dye Electrophorsis as apposed to Using real DNA samples as these are bloody expensive , have a short shelf life , require expensive Agarose , dying ,washing and take more time to run .Every teacher that used real DNA cried .

Thanks for that! I may just ask to get one of these Bandit ones you've mentioned for starters - I was looking at them yesterday afternoon and wondered if they might be a better (easier) alternative to 3D printing. The other school I worked at used the real DNA and yes, it was expensive, difficult and rarely worked because the teacher who used it was the last-minute type and so everything was usually out of date...