UreaGel Diluent: High-Purity 7.5M Urea Solution for Denaturing PAGE
UreaGel Diluent (EC-840) is a critical component of the modular UreaGel system, specifically formulated to provide a consistent denaturing environment for nucleic acid electrophoresis. In high-resolution DNA and RNA analysis, maintaining a uniform urea concentration is essential for preventing the formation of secondary structures that can lead to band blurring or inaccurate migration. This solution provides a high-purity, deionised, and filtered 7.5M urea aqueous base, ensuring that every gel cast is free from the contaminants and ionic imbalances often associated with manually prepared urea stocks.
The UreaGel system is designed to simplify the preparation of denaturing polyacrylamide gels by using a three-part modular approach. UreaGel Diluent is used in conjunction with UreaGel Concentrate (either 19:1 or 29:1) and UreaGel Buffer. By substituting a portion of the concentrate with the diluent, researchers can precisely adjust the final acrylamide percentage of the gel without altering the critical 7.5M urea concentration. This deionised and filtered format not only saves significant time in reagent preparation but also provides the chemical stability required for high-sensitivity applications such as Sanger sequencing and oligonucleotide characterisation.
Key Benefits:
- Optimised Denaturation: Maintains 7.5M Urea. Ensures a constant denaturing environment throughout the gel matrix, regardless of the acrylamide concentration.
- Ultra-Pure Formulation: Deionised and filtered. Specifically processed to remove ions and particulate matter, resulting in crystal-clear gels with exceptionally low background noise.
- Nuclease-Free Reliability: Certified protection. Rigorously tested for the absence of DNase and RNase to ensure the stability of sensitive DNA and RNA samples.
- Workflow Efficiency: Ready-to-use liquid. Eliminates the time-consuming process of dissolving urea crystals and the subsequent deionisation steps required for high-resolution PAGE.
- System Integration: Modular compatibility. Works seamlessly with UreaGel Concentrate and Buffer to provide a foolproof method for customising gel formulations.
Technical Insights
The Role of Diluent in Custom Gel Percentages
Within the UreaGel modular system, the Diluent acts as the volume-balancing agent. To lower the acrylamide percentage of a gel, a specific volume of UreaGel Concentrate is replaced with UreaGel Diluent. Because the Diluent is also 7.5M urea, the denaturing strength of the gel remains perfectly constant at any acrylamide concentration from 4% to 20%, ensuring reproducible migration patterns.
Specifications
- Catalogue Number: EC-840
- Composition: 7.5M Urea in deionised aqueous solution
- Physical State: Clear, colourless liquid
- Filtration: 0.2 micron filtered
- Certification: Certified Nuclease-Free (RNase/DNase)
- Storage: Room Temperature (18-25°C), protected from light
- Shelf Life: 12 months from date of manufacture
- Compatibility: For use with UreaGel Concentrates (EC-828/EC-830) and UreaGel Buffer (EC-835)