DNA blotting equipment

[Ed Rybicki]

> I am interested in speeding up our traditional Southern blotting methods. I would appreciated
> receiving any un-biased opinions on this subject, rather than the info presented by sales
> representatives. Does anyone have experience with vacuum blotting versus electroblotting?

I have used both vacuum and electroblotting - and electro takes it away by
a long head.  It is more convenient in terms of gel sizes, and I think it
is more efficient: can do acrylamide and agarose gels, RNA or DNA, ss- or
ds-.  You only really need two big blocks of graphite (used for brushes
for BIG electric motors), say 20x15x1.5 cm, with attached battery terminal
cables, and a couple plastic bags and a tray to keep the mess off the
bench and to insulate the assembly from wandering fingers (vertical blot:
terminally electroshocked researcher).  Lots of recipes around, can
forward ours if you like.  Can also do bidirectional blotting simply by
reversing current after a short spell.

  ____________________________________________________________________
 | Ed Rybicki, PhD             |       "Lord, won't you buy me        |
 | (ed at micro.uct.ac.za)        |                                      |
 | Dept Microbiology           |         A Mer-ce-des Benz..."        |
 | University of Cape Town     |                                      |
 | Private Bag, Rondebosch     |                                      |
 | 7700, South Africa          |           - Janis Joplin             |
 | fax: 27-21-650 4023         |                                      |
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