Skip to content
EVRINTH

Topic cluster

Gels and blotting

Agarose and polyacrylamide electrophoresis, transfer methods and how laboratories judge bands, ladders and blot controls.

All topicsBuffers and laboratory water26Cell culture26Chromatography26Cold chain and sample storage26Cytometry and microscopy26DNA sequencing26Gels and blotting26Gene expression26Genome editing26Immunoassays26Laboratory labware26Laboratory safety26Liquid handling26Microbiology26Molecular cloning26Nucleic acid purification26PCR and amplification26Protein biochemistry26Proteomics26Research sourcing and study design26
western blotantibodysds pageligationelectrophoresisagaroseapparent massdilution seriesdnadna cleanupethidium bromideexposuregel extractionhybridisationloading controloverloadsourcingtransfer

26 articles

Agarose gel with glowing DNA bands on a UV transilluminator under an orange safety shield

gels and blotting

Native versus denaturing gels

Decide native or denaturing from the question, then troubleshoot a band that shifts or vanishes when a reducing agent is added.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

Agarose gel with glowing DNA bands on a UV transilluminator under an orange safety shield

gels and blotting

Northern blot concepts for RNA

Plan a northern blot at decision level: intact RNA, a denaturing gel, transfer, and a probe that reports transcript size rather than an RNA-seq count.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

Agarose gel with glowing DNA bands on a UV transilluminator under an orange safety shield

gels and blotting

Ponceau staining before antibody incubation

Stain a blot with Ponceau after transfer and before blocking to see lanes, bubbles and failed transfer. The dye washes off and does not name the antigen.

8 October 2026 · 7 min read

Agarose gel with glowing DNA bands on a UV transilluminator under an orange safety shield

gels and blotting

Power supplies voltage and run time

Choose agarose voltage from electrode distance and the sharpness you need, and allow for heat, spent buffer, and a power cut.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

Agarose gel with glowing DNA bands on a UV transilluminator under an orange safety shield

gels and blotting

Questions before ordering gel reagents

Questions on agarose grade, acrylamide hazard, membrane pore, ladder range, and buffer class before you send a gel-reagent enquiry.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

Agarose gel with glowing DNA bands on a UV transilluminator under an orange safety shield

gels and blotting

Reading ladders bands and smears

Read a DNA gel by the ladder on that photograph: log spacing, thick bands, doublets, RNA smears and primer-dimer at the dye front.

8 October 2026 · 9 min read

Agarose gel with glowing DNA bands on a UV transilluminator under an orange safety shield

gels and blotting

Safety around UV transilluminators

Use the orange shield on a UV transilluminator, and treat eyes, skin, time, and wavelength class under your institution rule.

8 October 2026 · 7 min read

Gloved hands pouring acrylamide solution between glass plates in a gel casting stand

gels and blotting

SDS-PAGE for protein size estimates

Plan an SDS-PAGE size estimate: stacking and resolving gels, SDS and reduction, apparent mass, and a ladder you do not read past.

8 October 2026 · 9 min read

Agarose gel with glowing DNA bands on a UV transilluminator under an orange safety shield

gels and blotting

Smiling bands and uneven gels

Define smile, frown, smear, and diffusion, and trace each band shape to heat, salt, overload, pour, buffer level, or speed.

8 October 2026 · 7 min read

Agarose gel with glowing DNA bands on a UV transilluminator under an orange safety shield

gels and blotting

Southern blot concepts for DNA

Understand a Southern blot as digest, separation, denaturation, transfer and a probe washed at a stringency that matches the question. Not a diagnostic test.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

Agarose gel with glowing DNA bands on a UV transilluminator under an orange safety shield

gels and blotting

Stripping a blot and why it can fail

Decide whether to strip a western blot or rerun it. A harsh strip can remove the antigen, and a mild strip can leave the first signal behind.

8 October 2026 · 8 min read

pH electrode in a beaker of buffer while a gloved hand adds drops from a dropper bottle

gels and blotting

Transfer buffers and membrane choice

Compare wet, semi-dry and rapid transfer, then match nitrocellulose or PVDF, methanol and pore size to the protein you must keep.

8 October 2026 · 9 min read