MOL BIO LAB L8 (Semis- Electrophoresis) Flashcards
The movement of molecules by (DNA or RNA) and by (applying specific voltage) an electric current
Electrophoresis
This can occur in air or solution or in a matrix to limit migration and contain the migrating material
Electrophoresis
Each phosphate group on a nucleic acid polymer is ________ making the molecule negatively charged
ionized
Under an electric current, DNA and RNA will migrate toward?
the positive pole (anode)
In a matrix of these gels, migration under the pull of the current is impeded, depending on the size of the molecules and the spaces in the gel matrix
Agarose and Polyacrylamide
Provide resistance to the movement of molecules under the force of an electric current
Gel system
Serve as a support medium for analysis of the separated components
Gel or Gel system
Enumerate the Criteria for Best Matrix
- Unaffected by electrophoresis
- Simple to prepare
- Amenable to modification
Prevent diffusion and reduce convection currents so that the separated molecules form a defined group, or “band”.
Gel system
Polymers that meet the criteria for best matrix
Agarose gel and Polyacrylamide
Q1: Small pieces of DNA (________ [bp]) are resolved on more concentrated agarose gels
Q2: How many percent of agarose gel is applied for small pieces of DNA?
Q1: more; 50 to 500 base pairs
Q2: 2% to 3%
Q1: Larger fragments of DNA (____ to _____) are best resolved
in _____ agarose concentrations.
Q2: How many percent of agarose gel is applied for larger fragments of DNA?
Q1: 2,000 to 50,000; lower
Q2: 0.5% to 1%.
Reasons why gel strength of any concentration of agarose degrades.
- Decrease over time
- Exposure to chaotropic agents such as urea
Agarose concentrations above 5% and below 0.5% are not practical. Because high concentration agarose will __________, whereas very low concentrations produce a _________ that is easily broken
impede migration; weak gel
Q1: Used for very large pieces of DNA and bacterial typing for epidemiological purposes
Q2: How many base pairs?
Q1: Pulse- Field Gel Electrophoresis
Q2: 50,000 to 250,000 base pairs
Enumerate all the examples of pulse-field gel configurations
- Field- inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE)
- Transverse alternating-field electrophoresis (TAFE)
- Rotating gel electrophoresis (RGE)
- Contour- clamped homogeneous electric field (CHEF)
For these very large DNA molecules, pulses of current applied to the gel in alternating dimensions enhance migration. This process is called?
Pulsed-field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE)
Works by alternating the positive and negative electrodes during electrophoresis
Field- inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE)
The simplest approach to this method (PFGE)
Field- inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE)
In this type of separation, the DNA goes periodically forward and backward
Field- inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE)
Used for applications that require the resolution of chromosome-sized fragments of DNA, such as in bacterial typing for epidemiological purposes.
Alternating-field electrophoresis
This will yield a set of fragments that produce a band pattern specific to each type of organism
Enzymatic digestion of genomic DNA
Requires a catalyst. Has higher resolution capacity for smaller fragments
Polyacrylamide Gels
Acrylamide in combination with the cross-linker ____________, polymerizes into a matrix that has consistent resolution characteristics
methylene bisarcylamide
Natural polymer from living organisms
Agarose
Why does the Polyacrylamide gel have precise control of the polymer properties and higher resolution than can be achieved with agarose?
Because it is a synthetic material
Polymerizes upon cooling
Agarose gel
Catalysts of polyacrylamide gel can be?
Nucleating agents
The two catalysts of Polyacrylamide gel
- Ammonium persulfate (APS)
- N, N, N’, N’ - tetramethylethylenediamine (TEMED) or light activation
Produces free oxygen radicals in the presence of TEMED to drive the polymerization mechanism
Ammonium persulfate (APS)
If light activation is used, free radicals are generated by a photochemical process using?
Riboflavin plus TEMED
In light activation, this inhibits the polymerization process
Excess oxygen
In light activation, this is done before the addition of the nucleating agents.
De-aeration or removal of air
The main advantage of polyacrylamide over
agarose
higher resolution capability of polyacrylamide for small fragments.
With single-base resolution, polyacrylamide gels are used for:
- nucleic acid sequencing
- mutation analyses
- nuclease protection assays
- other applications requiring high resolution of nucleic acids
Separates particles by size and charge
Capillary electrophoresis
In Capillary Electrophoresis, if the size is small, it migrates ______, whereas if it is large, it migrates _____.
faster; slower
In Capillary Electrophoresis, if it is negatively charge, it migrates _____, whereas if it is positively charged, it migrates _____.
fast; slow
__________ charged molecules are completely ionized at high pH whereas
___________ charged solutes are completely protonated in low-pH buffers
negatively; positively
To simplify:
Small and negatively charge particles- fast migration
Large and positively charge particles- slow migration
Give the pH: Low or High
1. Negatively charged
2. Positively charged
- High pH
- Low pH
Identify:
- Size and charge (charge/mass ratio)
- Increased sensitivity and immediate detection
Capillary Electrophoresis
These do not separate well in solution.
Nucleic acids (DNA & RNA)
Introducing a _____ inside the capillary establishes resolution by impeding nucleic acid migration according to size more than charge
polymer