A6877

Agarose

Medium EEO, for molecular biology

• Synonym(s): 3,6-Anhydro-α-L-galacto-β-D-galactan, Agarose ME
• CAS Number: 9012-36-6
• EC Number: 232-731-8
• MDL number: MFCD00081294
• PubChem Substance ID: 24891148
• NACRES: NA.25

Properties

• biological source: algae (marine)
• Quality Level: 200
• grade: for molecular biology
• type: Type II
• form: powder
• impurities: ≤10% moisture content
• EEO: 0.16-0.19
• transition temp: congealing temperature 34.5-37.5 °C (1.5% gel)
• gel strength: ≥1000 g/cm² (1.0% gel)
• InChI: 1S/C24H38O19/c25-1-5-9(27)11(29)12(30)22(38-5)41-17-8-4-36-20(17)15(33)24(40-8)43-18-10(28)6(2-26)39-23(14(18)32)42-16-7-3-35-19(16)13(31)21(34)37-7/h5-34H,1-4H2/t5-,6-,7+,8+,9+,10+,11+,12-,13+,14-,15+,16-,17-,18+,19+,20+,21-,22+,23+,24+/m1/s1
• InChI key: MJQHZNBUODTQTK-WKGBVCLCSA-N

Description

General description

Agarose is a polymer extracted from agar or agar-bearing marine algae. This purified linear galactan hydrocolloid comprises alternating co-polymers D-galactose and 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose units connected by α-(1→3) and β-(1→4) glycosidic bonds. Agarose is highly biocompatible, possesses variable mechanical and diffusion properties.

Application

Agarose has been used:

• in gel electrophoresis
• in the preparation of 2x agarose solution used along with 2x supplemented-MEM media as an overlay medium in plaque assay
• in an immunodiffusion test for Paracoccidioidomycosis

Analysis Note

The following is a list of properties associated with our agaroses:
Sulfate content - used as an indicator of purity, since sulfate is the major ionic group present.
Gel strength - the force that must be applied to a gel to cause it to fracture.
Gel point - the temperature at which an aqueous agarose solution forms a gel as it cools. Agarose solutions exhibit hysteresis in the liquid-to-gel transition - that is, their gel point is not the same as their melting temperature.
Electroendosmosis (EEO) - a movement of liquid through the gel. Anionic groups in an agarose gel are affixed to the matrix and cannot move, but dissociable counter cations can migrate toward the cathode in the matrix, giving rise to EEO. Since electrophoretic movement of biopolymers is usually toward the anode, EEO can disrupt separations because of internal convection.

Safety Information

• Storage Class Code: 11 - Combustible Solids
• WGK: WGK 3
• Flash Point(F): Not applicable
• Flash Point(C): Not applicable
• Personal Protective Equipment: dust mask type N95 (US), Eyeshields, Gloves