Dear Fellow Scientists,
My lab just ran out of DNA ladders (and my student only told me today). The ordering process takes a long time in Sri Lanka and I'm wondering what would be the best bet for me now, to find some DNA ladders quickly. Is there any company that gives ultra-cheap DNA ladders, which can be sent to Sri Lanka or are there cheap alternatives available locally. Any donations would be welcomed too (and I will replace any donation with a DNA ladder once we get stock).
Also, would there be problems at customs, when it comes importing DNA ladders.
Please let me know if you can. I need the ladder as early as possible.
Best,
Dilantha
Dear Dilantha
Do you have Lambda DNA? If so you can digest the DNA with HindIII as Marker II from Thermo Fisher scientific.
Best
Ulrike
We've been using Gold Bio's ladders lately, they're quite a bit cheaper than most of the other commercial vendors (http://www.goldbio.com). They do have multiple international distributors, although I don't see on in Sri Lanka; however they should be able to ship internationally.
As far as cheapest: for routine work, you could probably find a plasmid in your freezer that could be cut in several pieces with a cheap enzyme (e.g. EcoRI). If you had 3 or 4 different sized bands, that should be sufficient for routine analysis of PCR products, etc; then you could save the "good" ladder for the important gels.
Thank you both for your answers. I will try to make my own marker by putting together some PCR products or digesting a plasmid. I found a place where they give DNA ladders for 42 dollars but I'm still undecided.
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