Tris-borate, TBE, Tris-acetate, TAE, running buffer, agarose gel electrophoresis
Title
TBE, or not TBE; that is the question:Beneficial usage of tris-borate for obtaining a higher resolution of small DNA fragments by agarose gel electrophoresis
Authors
Yutaka MIURA, Hiroaki WAKE, and Taiji KATO
Institution
Department of Bioregulation Research, , Nagoya City University,
1-Kawasumi, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan
Tel: +81-52--853-8200, Fax: +81-52-842-3316
(Address of Correspondence:E-mail: miura-ngi@umin.ac.jp)
Source
Nagoya Medical Journal 43( 1):1-6 , 1999
Abstract
Tris-borate buffer (TBE) was advantageous for obtaining a higher resolution of
smaller DNA fragments on agarose gels, when compared to the conventional tris-acetate
buffer (TAE). Critical DNA sizes and gel concentrations for a clear separation were
about 2-kb for the 0.8% agarose and 300-bp for the 2.0% agarose. DNA fragments larger
than the critical size (>2-kb on 0.8% agarose gel) migrate faster in TAE, but the
smaller fragments (<300-bp on 2% agarose gel) migrate faster in TBE showing the better
resolution.