I dried my gel using your DryEase Mini Gel Drying system and the gel cracked during drying. Can you please help?
Please see below for possible causes and solutions:
- Air trapped between cellophane layers. Apply adequate Gel-Drying solution to prevent bubbles between the gel and cellophane assembly.
- Tension on cellophane too strong. Take care not to stretch the cellophane during dryer assembly.
- Rough edges or small cracks on gel edges. Trim rough edges from the gel to eliminate starting points for cracks.
- Cellophane slips during drying. Make sure clamps hold all four edges of the dryer assembly firmly.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Electrophoresis and Western Blotting Support Center.
I am using your DryEase Mini Gel Drying system and would like to peel off the cellophane after drying the gel but it seems really difficult. Can you please offer some tips?
Usually it is not necessary to peel off the cellophane. If your signal is very faint and you are concerned about getting an exposure, you can rub the top surface of your gel with a damp towel and then peel off the cellophane. Then air dry the gel for a few minutes and perform autoradiography.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Electrophoresis and Western Blotting Support Center.
I dried my gel using Gel-Drying Solution and it dried milky white. Can the gel be recovered?
Gels turn white when they are dried too rapidly, usually in an environment that is too ventilated, drafty, or warm. You can remedy this problem by dabbing the gel with deionized water on a Kimwipe tissue to rehydrate the white areas. Re-dry the gel in a dark, dry, non-drafty place, such as a drawer or cabinet.
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Electrophoresis and Western Blotting Support Center.
Do you offer a system for drying of protein gels?
We offer the following systems for drying of protein gels:
DryEase Mini Gel Drying System (Cat. No. NI2387): Simple-to-use kit for even, crack-free drying of mini gels that dries gels evenly, using passive evaporation. Gels dried with this system are suitable for fluorography, densitometry, autoradiography, or permanent gel storage. Each DryEase Mini-Gel Drying System contains the following components:
- 2-DryEase Mini-Gel Drying Frames (includes 2 frames + 8 clamps) (Cat. No. NI2380)
- 1-DryEase Mini-Gel Drying Base (Cat. No. NI2300)
- 200-DryEase Mini Cellophane precut sheets (Cat. No. NC2380)
- 500 mL Gel-Dry Drying Solution (Cat. No. NI2100)
Large Gel Drying Kit (Cat. No. NI2207): Provides the same even, crack-free gel drying seen with the DryEase Mini-Gel Drying System but is designed to accommodate larger gels or 4 mini-gels. A base for the system is not required.
Each Large Gel Drying Kit contains the following components:
- 1-DryEase Large Gel Drying Frame (includes 8 clamps) (Cat. No. NI2200)
- 100-DryEase Large Cellophane precut sheets (Cat. No. NC2200)
- 500 mL Gel-Dry Drying Solution (Cat. No. LC4025)
Find additional tips, troubleshooting help, and resources within our Protein Electrophoresis and Western Blotting Support Center.
