A Method To Prepare An Economic Substitute For Agarose Gel Along With A Low-Cost Electrolyte For Functional Dna Gel Electrophoresis

The use of agarose in electrophoresis is indispensable in modern biotechnology research. However, agarose is relatively expensive and not available in limited-budget scientific institutions, labs and educational facilities. Therefore, the search for more economical and available alternatives for researchers in developing countries and different educational institutions was urgently needed. This study was conducted 
on several alternatives to agarose gel, including animal gelatin, microbiological grade agar-agar, wheat 
starch and a mixture of animal gelatin and agar-agar. The study focused on food grade agar-agar to find a 
suitable alternative to agarose with appropriate treatment with NaCl, NaHCO₃, and NaOH, and different 
parameters of comparison were documented to see which alternative gave the best results. In addition 
to the agarose substitute and to make a more approachable method for labs on a tight budget, an alternative to electrolyte to TBE or TAE was used, consisting of NaCl and NaHCO₃ and NaOH and water in a 
very precise percentage to give PH= 9.1. To test the manufactured Gel in this method, DNA samples were 
loaded, and the gel result of separation using treated food grade agar-agar showed results compared to 
agarose gel in the same standards, and the process of using it was relatively simple and similar to that 
of agarose. This electrophoresis method costs 15 times less than industrial-grade agarose and TBE or 
TAE and could increase the scale of research in the field of biotechnology applications and education. 
Keywords: Electrophoresis, Agarose, Manufactured Gel, Gelatin, Dna, Agar-Agar.
Abrevation: Tbe: Tris Boric Acid Edta - Tae: Tris Acetic Acid Edta.