miniPCR bio
TM
Dye Electrophoresis Lab: Molecular Rainbow - Student's Guide
Version: 1.0 - Release: April 2022 - © 2022 by miniPCR bio™
Student's Guide
P./16
Today's lab
Today, you will use gel electrophoresis to analyze dyes.
The way each dye will move through the gel will depend on the characteristics of the molecules that
make that dye.
• The direction that dye molecules will move through the gel depends on the charge of the
molecules. Negatively charged molecules will move towards the positive electrode, while
positively charged molecules will move towards the negative electrode.
• How fast molecules will move through the gel will depend on the size of the
molecules—smaller molecules will typically move faster.
The dyes:
Your task is to use gel electrophoresis to study the dye samples. You will determine:
• Charge: Which dye molecules are positively charged and which ones are negatively charged?
• Composition: Which dye samples contain only one type of dye and which ones are mixtures of
more than one dye?
• Size: Which dye molecules appear to be large and which ones seem small compared to each
other?
Time to analyze the molecular rainbow!
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Purple
