EtBr staining of DNA

[Caroline Szymeczek-Seay]

Mike wrote:
> 
> Hello netters:
> Does anyone have an opinion and/or protocol for staining DNA in an
> agarose gel by adding EtBr directly to the sample?
> I know it can change how the DNA runs.  This would be more for quick &
> dirty gels.
> Thanks in advance.
> Mike
> m3allen at sciborg.uwaterloo.ca
I add EtBr to both my gel soln and my sample when i am doing quick and
dirty gels.  This really helps when trying to see small (100-200 bp) DNA
which otherwise gets kind of fuzzy on an agarose gel.  I use a final
conc of 10 ug/ml in the gel, and I add EtBr to my loading buffer so that
its conc is also 10 ug/ml in the loading buffer.  works like a charm. 
Add the EtBr spiked loading buffer to your DNA std, too, to prevent
worries about aberrant runs.

Caroline Seay