Between them, the three buffers cover all of the molecular biologist’s DNA gel needs

Since most of the power produced in the electrophoretic process is dissipated as heat the following detrimental effects can result: • an increased rate of diffusion of sample and buffer ions leading to broadening of the separated samples • the formation of convection currents, which leads to mixing of separated samples; • thermal instability of samples that are rather sensitive to heat (e.g. denaturation of DNA) • a decrease of buffer viscosity hence a reduction in the resistance of the medium

Using a lower concentration running buffer (0.25x TAE) and higher voltage (300 V), agarose gels can be run 33% faster.

Borate, which is present in LB and SB, causes reversible crosslinks with DNA, reducing the separation of larger DNA fragments unless low % gels are made of high-strength agarose

SDS in loading buffer may contribute to band smearing in precast GelRed® gels. If this occurs, we recommend using the post-staining protocol