Gel ElectrophoresisSeparating DNA by size, and how to read the result.BiologyThe standard technique for sizing DNA fragments.1Load the wellsSamples plus a ladder of known sizes.2Apply the currentDNA migrates toward the anode.3Fragments separate by sizeThe gel matrix impedes larger fragments more.4Stain and visualiseUnder UV, or with a safe stain.5Compare to the ladderInterpolate fragment sizes from the standards.USESDNA profilingChecking a PCR workedRestriction mappingSizing a plasmidThe DNA ladder is essential: without known sizes alongside, bandpositions cannot be converted into base pairs.Gel Electrophoresislearnposters.com
Gel Electrophoresis — printable life science wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Gel Electrophoresis, step by step

The standard technique for sizing DNA fragments.

  1. Load the wellsSamples plus a ladder of known sizes.
  2. Apply the currentDNA migrates toward the anode.
  3. Fragments separate by sizeThe gel matrix impedes larger fragments more.
  4. Stain and visualiseUnder UV, or with a safe stain.
  5. Compare to the ladderInterpolate fragment sizes from the standards.

Uses

  • DNA profiling
  • Checking a PCR worked
  • Restriction mapping
  • Sizing a plasmid

The DNA ladder is essential: without known sizes alongside, band positions cannot be converted into base pairs.

Questions about the Gel Electrophoresis poster

What’s on the Gel Electrophoresis poster?
5 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. The standard technique for sizing DNA fragments. Load the wells — Samples plus a ladder of known sizes.; Apply the current — DNA migrates toward the anode.; Fragments separate by size — The gel matrix impedes larger fragments more.; Stain and visualise — Under UV, or with a safe stain.; Compare to the ladder — Interpolate fragment sizes from the standards.. The DNA ladder is essential: without known sizes alongside, band positions cannot be converted into base pairs.
Who is the Gel Electrophoresis poster for?
Gel Electrophoresis belongs to the Biology section rather than to a school year, because life science is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning genetics can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Gel Electrophoresis poster?
DNA is negatively charged and moves toward the positive electrode. Small fragments move furthest. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Gel Electrophoresis belongs on the wall where that life science work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Gel Electrophoresis?
CRISPR-Cas9, DNA Sequencing and Epigenetics sit alongside Gel Electrophoresis in the Biology section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.CRISPR-Cas9DNA SequencingEpigenetics
Is the Gel Electrophoresis poster free to download and print?
Yes. Gel Electrophoresis downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Biology section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Gel Electrophoresis poster print at?
Gel Electrophoresis is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Gel Electrophoresis loses nothing.Printing guide

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