In this activity, students use agarose gel electrophoresis to determine the composition of various food color mixtures.
Students learn how molecules can be separated and identified by electrophoresis.
The high temperature keeps the agarose liquified. While the agarose is solidifying in the gel tray, the students can practice using the micropipet with the practice dye. After the gel is solidified and 1X TBE is added to the electrophoresis unit, students can practice loading the gels with the practice samples. If the students want the gels, wrap them in plastic wrap. Unfortunately, the dyes in the gel diffuse rapidly, so the banding patterns will disappear overnight.