Gel Electrophoresis

In the Gel Electrophoresis lab we learned many new lab techniques in the process of it.  The goal was to put different colored dyes into the gel and then put electricity through it to see how the dyes are charged.  The first step was to make the gel plate.  We did this by making a mold that was square and had small holes in it to put the dye.  Then we poured in the hot gel liquid and let it cool.  After that we sat the hardened Gel in the gel rig.  We then learned how to use the micro pipets.  We first sucked up the dyes with the pipets and squirted the liquid into the slots made in the gel.  This part was tough because the slots were small and it was hard to be steady and squirt it all in the slot.  When using the pipets we had to get a new nozzle every time so that we did not contaminate the other dyes.  Once we had all of the dyes in place we started the electricity in the gel rig.  We let it sit for about fifteen minutes.  Then when we came back the dyes had moved.  The negative dyes moved to positive side like DNA would, but there was one positive dye that moved to the negative side.  They all had gone a different distance too, depending on how charged they were.  In all it gave me a good understanding of how Gel Electrophoresis is used to sequence DNA.