Best Gel Extraction Kit

February 23, 2016

BlueskyReddit
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Research
Laboratory Technician

Overall

Quality of Results

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Company:

Qiagen

Product Name:

QiaQuick Gel Extraction Kit

Catalog Number:

28704

Our lab performs a number of cloning reactions, and we are often extracting specific DNA bands from agarose gels following gel electrophoresis. Our kit of choice for extracting DNA from gel chunks is the Qiagen Gel Extraction Kit, and it works great. We have no plans of changing in the future.

Experimental Design and Results Summary

Application

DNA Band Gel Extraction

Starting Material

Gel Chunk with DNA Band

Protocol Overview

First, mass out the gel chunks. Add Buffer QG and give ten minutes total at 50C to eat up the agarose gel. Add 1 volume of isopropanol, put it through the column, wash the column, and elute the DNA into a new tube. In total, the protocol takes around ~25 minutes.

Tips

Spin down in an extra 1.5mL tube before eluting to remove residual wash buffer on the outsides of the columns.

Results Summary

I consistently get a good yield of DNA from this gel extraction kit, roughly 1/2-1/3 of the total DNA present. For the amount of time that you have to put in, the yield is pretty great. Also, the DNA is always good quality.

Additional Notes

None

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Summary

The Good

Quick and easy to use

The Bad

Rather expensive. Requires a 50C heat block

The Bottom Line

For such a short amount of time, this kit does a great job of eating through an agarose gel and extracting the contained DNA in an orderly fashion. There are many other kits, but we've stuck with this one because of the quality of reagents and results. I highly recommend this particular kit for if you need to extract DNA from a gel.

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