Lonza Rockland, Inc.
www.lonza.com
biotechserv@lonza.com
Tech Service: 800-521-0390
Customer Service: 800-638-8174
Document # 18103-0807-8
Rockland, ME 04841 USA

NuSieve® 3-1 Agarose
Easy-to-handle gels for PCR product separation and blotting.
Microwave lnstructions for Agarose Preparation

Introduction
NuSieve® 3:1 Agarose is a standard melting
temperature agarose for resolving DNA fragments<1,000 bp. The high gel strength results in easy-tohandle gels, enhancing the convenience of gelprocessing and blotting. Performance testing ofNuSieve® 3:1 Agarose ensures fine resolution of DNA
fragments up to 1,000 bp.
Analytical Specifications
Gelling temperature (4%)
Melting temperature (4%)
Gel strength (4%)

1. Choose a beaker that is 2-4 times the volume of thesolution.
2. Add chilled 1X or 0.5X electrophoresis buffer and astir bar to the beaker.
3. Slowly sprinkle in the agarose powder while thesolution is rapidly stirred.
4. Remove the stir bar if not Teflon® coated.
5. Soak the agarose in the buffer for 15 minutes before
heating. This reduces the tendency of the agarose
solution to foam during heating.
6. Weigh the beaker and solution before heating.
7. Cover the beaker with plastic wrap.
8. Pierce a small hole in the plastic wrap for ventilation.
For agarose concentrations >4%, the following
additional steps will further help prevent theagarose solution from foaming during
melting/dissolution:
A. Heat the beaker in the microwave oven on
Medium power for 1 minute.
B. Remove the solution from the microwave.
C. Allow the solution to sit on the bench for 15minutes.
9. Heat the beaker in the microwave oven on Medium
power for 2 minutes.
10. Remove the beaker from the microwave oven.
Caution: Any microwaved solution may
become superheated and foam over whenagitated.

32.5°C-38.0°C<90°C>1,400 g/cm²Applications• PCR† product separation and blotting• Analytical electrophoresis of DNA and RNA
fragments <1,000 bp
Suggested Agarose Concentrations
Size Range

Final Agarose Concentration (%)(Base Pairs)

1X TAE Buffer

1X TBE Buffer

500-1,000
100-500
10-100

3.0
4.0
6.0

2.0
3.0
5.0

Dye Mobility Table
Migration of double-stranded DNA in relation toBromophenol Blue (BPB) and Xylene Cyanol (XC) inNuSieve® 3:1 Agarose Gels.
1X TAE Buffer%

1X TBE Buffer

XCBPB

Agarose

XCBPB

950
650
35020012013080403020

2.5
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0

700
500
250
1409070402084

11. GENTLY swirl the beaker to resuspend any settled
powder and gel pieces.
12. Reheat the beaker on HIGH power until the solution
comes to a boil.
13. Hold at boiling point for 1 minute or until all of theparticles are dissolved.
14. Remove the beaker from the microwave oven.
15. GENTLY swirl the beaker to thoroughly mix theagarose solution.
16. After dissolution, add sufficient hot distilled water toobtain the initial weight.
17. Mix thoroughly.
18. Cool the solution to 50°C-60°C prior to casting.

Precautions
Always wear eye protection when dissolving agaroseand guard yourself and others against scalding
solutions. Refer to Material Safety Data Sheet foradditional safety and handling information.

1Plate Instructions for Agarose Preparation
1. Choose a beaker that is 2-4 times the volume of thesolution.
2. Add chilled electrophoresis buffer and a stir bar tothe beaker.
3. Slowly sprinkle the agarose powder while thesolution is rapidly stirred.
4. Weigh the beaker and solution before heating.
5. Cover the beaker with plastic wrap.
6. Pierce a small hole in the plastic wrap for ventilation.
7. Bring the solution to a boil while stirring.
8. Maintain gentle boiling until all the agarose isdissolved (approximately 10 minutes).
9. Add sufficient hot distilled water to obtain the initialweight.
10. Mix thoroughly.
11. Cool the solution to 50°C-60°C prior to casting.
Ordering Information:
Catalog No.
50091
50090
50094

Size
25 g
125 g
500 g

For more information on NuSieve® 3:1 Agarose, contact
Technical Service at (800) 521-0390 or visit our website
at www.Lonza.com.
Related Products:
DNA Ladders
DNA Markers
RNA Markers
GelStar® Nucleic Acid Gel Stain
NuSieve® GTG® Agarose
AccuGENE® TBE and TAE Buffers
The Sourcebook
For Laboratory Use.
†The PCR process may be covered by one or more third-party
patents.

GelStar is a trademark of FMC Corporation. Teflon is atrademark of E.I. duPont de Nemours and Co. All othertrademarks herein are marks of the Lonza Group or its
affiliates. GelStar is covered by U.S. patent 5,436,134. Other
US and foreign patents pending.
© 2007 Lonza Rockland, Inc.
All rights reserved.