Abstracto

An economical power supply for DNA gel electrophoresis

Santosh Kumar, Ravi Shekhar

Background: Molecular biology is a growing branch of science with widespread application in life sciences. Currently, molecular biology techniques are confined to specialized fields and a large number of students are out of reach from having such education. A commonly used procedure in molecular biology is the separation of particles with the use of charge, i.e. electrophoresis. The instrument used for this procedure is complex and highly sensitive, thus expensive. As a philanthropist thought education should be free and accessible to all. So, that student in developing countries can afford to have an introductory education to vast field of molecular biology. Thus, the aim of the study was to fabricate a low cost power supply instrument for DNA agarose gel electrophoresis.

Materials and Methods: The power supply was configured using 5V SMPS module and DC-DC boost converter. Three SMPS were attached to the boost converter individually. Outputs of the all three boost converter were connected in series to obtain an output of 105V.

Result: The power supply performance was optimal for DNA agarose gel electrophoresis applications.

Conclusion: The apparatus is a low cost minimalistic design to promote DNA agarose gel electrophoresis in remote colleges and school.