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No bands appearing in DNA gel electrophoresis - (May/08/2012 )

Hello all,

So last month for my molecular biology class I had an issue. After quantifying the DNA and finding it to be an adequate amount for PCR, we ran the reaction (sorry I can't remember the exact amount). Afterwards, in order to confirm our product, we ran it in a gel at 120 volts for 30 minutes. The amount of ethidium bromide used was 1 ul in 50ml of 1x tae mixed with 0.75 grams of agarose. The problem was that after running the gel we were able to see the ladder but not the samples.

I would also like it, for a research project I'm doing that investigates this problem, if somebody could provide me some links to some research articles that pertain to this issue. Additionally, I was also wondering if anybody else has experienced this problem before and what they have done about it.

Thank you very much

-jaredmatz-

So you loaded some of your PCR sample into a gel and saw no band?

There are two places where something could have gone wrong- your PCR failed, or your gel loading. Can you think of some ways this could have happened?

As this is a homework question, I can't give you anymore than that without you first contributing some ideas as to why you think this might have happened and what could have gone wrong.

-leelee-