openPFGE: An open source and low cost pulsed-field gel electrophoresis equipment

• Main Authors: Diego Lagos-Susaeta, Oriana Salazar, Juan A. Asenjo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2020-10-01
• Series: HardwareX
• Subjects: Biotechnology; Molecular biology; DNA electrophoresis; Low cost equipment; Open source equipment; Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis [PFGE]
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067220300377

DNA electrophoresis is a fundamental technique in molecular biology that allows the separation of DNA molecules up to ~50 Kbp. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis [PFGE] is a variation of the conventional DNA electrophoresis technique that allows the separation of very large DNA molecules up to ~10 Mbp. PFGE equipment is very expensive and it becomes an access barrier to many laboratories. Also, just a few privative designs of the equipment are available and it becomes difficult for the community to improve or customize their functioning. Here, we provide an open source PFGE equipment capable of the separation of DNA molecules up to, at least, ~2 Mbp and at low cost: USD$850, about 3% of the price of typical commercial equipment.