Centri-Sep™ 96-Well Plates - FAQs

After the cycle sequencing reaction is complete, unincorporated ddNTPs can form complexes that migrate more slowly than individual ddNTPs would. These complexes can interfere with electrokinetic injection, electrophoretic separation, and data analysis. In the electropherogram these can be observed as a region containing multicolored peaks of varying sizes or blobs, depending on the efficiency of the cleanup. In BigDyeTerminator v3.1 reactions, these blobs may appear around 70–80 bp and, in severe cases, 110–120 bp. For BigDye Terminator v1.1, the blobs will either migrate ahead of the data collection time (so they will not be visible) or they may be visible at the very beginning of the run.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Capillary Electrophoresis Applications Support Center.

While there are many kits and methods available to clean up the extension products from a sequencing reaction, the ones that Thermo Fisher Scientific has formally tested and recommends are:

•BigDye XTerminator Purification Kit
•Ethanol precipitation
•Spin column/plate purification (e.g. Centri-Sep columns, DTR Kits from Edge Biosystems)

A list of alternative methods for purification is available in the DNA Sequencing by Capillary Electrophoresis: Applied Biosystems Chemistry Guide: Second Edition (Cat. No. 4305080, Rev. C, page 119). The guide can be found by searching the Thermo Fisher Scientific website with the Cat. No. 4305080.

Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Capillary Electrophoresis Applications Support Center.