36
E-Gel
™
Power Snap Electrophoresis System User Guide
Observation
Cause
Recommended action
Sample leaking from the
wells
Sample is overloaded
Load the recommended sample volume per well
Wells damaged during comb
removal
Remove the gel comb gently without damaging
the wells
DNA sample cannot be
seen
Inhibition of visualization by heat Wait 10–15 minutes for gel to cool before
visualization
RNA sample cannot be
seen
Inhibition of visualization by heat
and denaturing agent
Wait 10–15 minutes for gel to cool before
visualization
Speckles visible
Dust fluorescing in same
wavelength as SYBR
™
Safe /
SYBR
™
Gold II
Make sure gel is clean before imaging.
High background,
suboptimal, or no image
(when used with E-Gel
Power Snap Camera)
Incorrect camera adjustments
Refer to E-Gel Power Snap Camera use guide
High background,
suboptimal, or no image
(when used with E-Gel
™
Imager)
No filters or wrong filter set
Refer to E-Gel
™
Imager Technical Guide or
instrument manufacturer for optimal filter set.
Photographic settings not
optimal
Determine optimal settings empirically by
adjusting exposure time, gain, etc.
E-Gel
™
agarose gels with
ethidium bromide are not
compatible for visualization on a
blue light transilluminator
Use an E-Gel
™
Imager with UV base or a 3
rd
-party
UV transilluminator
Low cloning efficiency
Used a UV light source to
visualize DNA
For cloning applications, use E-Gel
™
CloneWell
™
II
Agarose Gels with SYBR Safe; or for gel excision
use a blue light transilluminator, such as the Safe
Imager
™
2.0 Blue-Light Transilluminator (Cat. no.
G6600).