Polycationic buffers and method for gel electrophoresis of nucleic acids

摘要

The present invention provides for polycationic buffers for the gel electrophoresis of and methods for obtaining improved separation and resolution of nucleic acids. In particular, the invention provides for a buffer consisting essentially of histidine for the gel electrophoresis of oligonucleotides ranging from a few to about 70 nucleotides in length. Polycationic buffers may be used for both analytical and preparative purposes and result in a nearly two-fold improvement in both separation and resolution of the nucleic acid bands. Furthermore, the use of polycationic buffers reduces the electrophoresis time by a factor of about three due to the low conductivity of the buffers.