Agarose gel electrophoresis

A laboratory method that separates DNA or RNA fragments by moving them through a porous agarose gel in an electric field. Smaller fragments generally travel farther than larger ones.

Electrophoresis: The movement of charged particles through a medium under an electric field. Agarose gel electrophoresis is one form of this broader separation method.
DNA: A nucleic acid that stores hereditary information in most organisms. DNA is the most common molecule separated and visualized by this method.
Polymerase chain reaction: A laboratory method that selectively amplifies DNA using repeated cycles of heating and cooling. A gel can show whether amplification produced a fragment of the expected size.
Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis: Electrophoresis through a polyacrylamide matrix, commonly used to resolve small DNA, RNA, or protein molecules. Its finer pores offer better resolution for small fragments than typical agarose gels.
Agarose: A polysaccharide extracted from red algae that forms porous gels when dissolved and cooled. Its pore network provides the medium through which nucleic acids migrate.
RNA: A nucleic acid involved in gene expression, regulation, and other cellular processes. RNA can also be separated in agarose gels, often under denaturing conditions.
Restriction digest: The cutting of DNA at specific sequences by restriction enzymes. Electrophoresis separates the resulting fragments into a pattern that can be checked.
Capillary electrophoresis: A separation method that moves charged analytes through a narrow capillary under an electric field. It can automate and quantify separations that agarose gels display as bands.
DNA ladder: A mixture of DNA fragments of known lengths used as a size reference in gel electrophoresis. Its bands let fragment sizes be estimated by comparing migration distances.
Nucleic acid: A biological polymer made from nucleotide subunits, including DNA and RNA. This broader molecular family defines the usual targets of agarose gel electrophoresis.

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