Tuggings

How do I prevent the comb from pulling up the gel in vertical gel electrophoresis?

We routinely run vertical gel electrophoresis for DNA gelshifts (EMSA). The plates, combs and spacers are meticulously cleaned each time, and the the plates are siliconized. Sometimes, but not every time, when we remove the comb, the comb pulls up with some difficulty. It feels like pulling up against a vacuum, and the gel is pulled upward in the middle of the comb, causing the gel to be distorted. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Public Comments

1. Have you tried wiggling it back and forth to allow some air through? If its genuinely a vacuum problem, maybe you could also try slipping a hollow needle (without the syringe attached) between the plate and the comb... dunno if that'll be practical though. I'm sure you would have checked this first, but have you noticed a trend with reference to the amount of time you've allowed for polymerization?