A gel electrophoresis loading system to prevent laboratory contamination by amplification products

Abstract

Pipet tip loading of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and other amplification products into an electrophoresis gel represents a potential source of laboratory contamination. We have developed a prototype of the gel contamination control system (GelCCS) that enables gel loading by bottom puncture of PCR tubes. Puncture occurs within a sealed gel casing, preventing contamination of the surrounding environment. The system was designed for inexpensive manufacture so that after the results are visualized, the gel casing and PCR tubes are discarded intact with the amplification products sealed inside. We demonstrate that gel loading is reliable and that the resulting bands are equivalent in appearance to manually loaded gels.