Development of gel electrophoresis unit to reduce DNA separation process time—a proof of concept

• Main Authors: Mohamed Zulkifli, Razauden, Yahya, Azli, Arif, Muhammad, Andromeda, Trias, Ahmad, Nor Azlina, Abdul Kadir, Mohammed Rafiq, Baharom, Ameruddin
• Format: Article
• Published: American Scientific Publishers 2013
• Subjects: Q Science
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/40270/; https://doi.org/10.1166/jbns.2013.1117
• Institution: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

This paper reports the development and experimentation of a Gel Electrophoresis Unit that reduce the DNA separation process time. The power supply unit has been redesigned by employing a fly-back converter of Switch Mode Power Supply which offers a compact solution of Gel Electrophoresis power pack. The novel Gel Electrophoresis container has been developed by incorporating four fans to regulate the heat while DNA separation process took place. The fans are controlled by the microcontroller through the heat sensor immersed in the gel. The result shows that the new gel electrophoresis unit is capable of shortening the DNA separation process time by sustaining the working temperature where the temperature proportionally controls the fan speed to regulate the thermal distribution within the DNA separation process.