Electrophoresis

E is for easy

E-gels from Invitrogen (San Diego, CA) are self-contained, bufferless, pre-cast agarose gels designed for fast, easy, and convenient electrophoresis. Agarose, electrodes, and ethidium bromide are all packaged inside a dry, disposable, UV-transparent cassette, and there is no need for a gel apparatus because they run in specially designed, inexpensive bases that include a power supply. Features include a lighted display that indicates when the 2-min pre-run is complete and when to load samples, and automatic power shutoff following electrophoresis to avoid overrunning the gel. Excellent resolution and clarity can be achieved in just 30 min.http://www.invitrogen.com

Gel documentation system

Syngene's (Cambridge, UK) GeneGenius is a comprehensive, fully automated gel documentation and analysis system for 1D gels, spot blots, colony counting, PCR, proteins, autorads, and plates. It features Syngene's computer-controlled darkroom with an integral CCD camera and motorized zoom lens, the latest generation PC, GeneSnap advanced image acquisition features with auto exposure and image series capture, automated GeneTools 1D analysis software, and digital thermal printing. This system is ideal for any laboratory working with DNA and protein gels, spots, blots, plates, and any other types of gel media.http://www.syngene.com

Pre-cast gels

Bio-Rad Laboratories' (Hercules, CA) Criterion pre-cast gel system is easy to use: simply drop in the cassettes and load your samples, pour in your buffer, close the electrode lid, and start your run. The innovative patented integrated buffer chamber simplifies assembly and ensures that the system will never leak. There is no need for gel clamps or buffer dams when running two gels, and replaceable electrode carriers with pre-strung platinum wires even make electrode changes easy.http://www.bio-rad.com

Nucleic acid purification

Large-scale purification

The Autopure ls—the world's first automated instrument capable of purifying nucleic acid from clinical samples up to 10 ml in size—is available from Gentra Systems (Minneapolis, MN). Automating Gentra's Puregene chemistries, which produce DNA of unparalleled stability, purity, and yield, the Autopure ls purifies 96 samples in 8 h, tracking each sample throughout the process. It can produce up to 500 μg of high-molecular-weight DNA (100–200 kb in size) from a 10 ml sample of whole blood, and is ideal for clinical and clinical research applications requiring large samples, particularly if the samples are to be archived.http://www.gentra.com

Automated isolation

The AutoGenprep 3000 is a fully automated, self-contained system for the isolation of genomic DNA or RNA from animal origin, including tissue, cultured cells, and mouse tail. Additionally, it can isolate DNA from bacterial cultures and whole blood. It processes up to 48 samples in 4–6 h, and is capable of storing up to four protocols with seven saveable user files each. Its unique robotic operation uses no probes or pipette tips, and a HEPA filter is included to prevent any aerosol contamination. It is available from a1-biotech (Martinsried, Germany).http://www.a1-biotech.com

Miniprep kit

Wizard Plus SV Minipreps DNA purification system from Promega (Madison, WI) delivers highly purified plasmid DNA optimized for automated fluorescent sequencing and restriction enzyme digestion, as well as other standard molecular biology applications. It offers the flexibility of using spin or vacuum processing methods, and incorporates an optional alkaline protease digestion step, allowing a broad choice of Escherichia coli strains. Up to 20 minipreps can be performed in as little as 45 min.http://www.promega.com