Agarose Gel Electrophoresis for Nucleic Acids

Abstract

Agarose gel electrophoresis is the easiest, most popular and effective way of separating and analysing nucleic acid fragments to assess the quality and quantity of DNA and RNA on the basis of charge by applying an electric field to the electrophoretic apparatus. The DNA and RNA can be visualized in the gel by the addition of ethidium bromide or other dyes under UV light. The use of agarose gel electrophoresis revolutionized the separation of nucleic acids of different sizes. The rate of migration of a nucleic acid molecule through a gel is determined by the size, agarose concentration, nucleic acid conformation, voltage applied and electrophoresis buffer. The different steps involved in the process of agarose gel electrophoresis are discussed in detail in this chapter.