The 'E' means 'Easy': Invitrogen's E-Gel Precast Agarose Electrophoresis System

E-Gel from Invitrogen

As laboratory personnel search for more streamlined protocols to maximize daily productivity, commercial vendors are designing a new family of convenience products. Premixed buffer stocks, minicolumns to isolate plasmid DNA, and even agar plates prepared using premeasured capsules have all allowed researchers to focus their efforts on experimental design rather than on laborious preparative tasks. To add to the growing list of such products is the new E-Gel™ from Invitrogen (Carlsbad, Calif.), the first bufferless, precast agarose gel system. Since its debut in March, E-Gel systems have been used by scientists to obtain quick and consistent DNA gel results.

The E-Gel system consists of a 12-well minigel contained in a clear, UV-transparent cassette. Ethidium bromide is incorporated into the gel mixture for reproducible DNA staining results. Each sealed cassette houses the electrodes necessary for the gel run. The minigel is placed within the specially designed E-Gel Base...