PAGE apparatus consist of tank, power supply, electrodes, glass slides and .... . Which of the mentioned companies apparatus is the most simple to use? which is conventional? which is cheaper?
I have been using several different aparatusses for quite some time, including several models form biorad and cleaver, as well as units from Invitrogen, OWL and also D.I.Y. models. BioRad surely has a nice and complete system. Important part of your decission making process should also be the cost of consumables such as combs and glass plates. I would definitely not recomend a system, where you only can use precast disposable gels, as it is too expensive. Some apparatuses can use rectangular glass slides, which you can get literally for pennnies from your local glasscutter. With notched glass plates it is more difficult, but some glasscutters would make tham for you still at a fraction of the costs of the original eqiupment. I can tell you that the consumption of glass plates can be pretty high, especially when you have students in your lab. It is quite convenient if you can have about 10 precast gels in you fridge and take them as you need them. You should also consider what other people at your institute use. You might be able to use their glass plates in case that yours break or vice versa. Or in case you need to run more same sized gels at the same time. Currently we have biorad, cleaver and owl systems in our lab and from the point of ease of use I would say that Owl is slightly behind the other two.
I don't know if Sigma-Aldrich offers a power supply, but I can recommend the PAGE unit (http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sigma/e5889?lang=de®ion=DE). I dont' know if this the product number of our unit, but it looks the same ;)
Pros:
- relatively thick glass plates -> won't break easy while cleaning
- easy assembly of glass plates and spacers (never have had a leaky assembly)
- not much running buffer needed -> 200–250 mL
- cooling can be achievd by flushing the insinde of the gel mount with water
Cons:
- running buffer may sneak anlong the spacer from the top to the bottom reservoir -> connectivity may get lost
I have been using several different aparatusses for quite some time, including several models form biorad and cleaver, as well as units from Invitrogen, OWL and also D.I.Y. models. BioRad surely has a nice and complete system. Important part of your decission making process should also be the cost of consumables such as combs and glass plates. I would definitely not recomend a system, where you only can use precast disposable gels, as it is too expensive. Some apparatuses can use rectangular glass slides, which you can get literally for pennnies from your local glasscutter. With notched glass plates it is more difficult, but some glasscutters would make tham for you still at a fraction of the costs of the original eqiupment. I can tell you that the consumption of glass plates can be pretty high, especially when you have students in your lab. It is quite convenient if you can have about 10 precast gels in you fridge and take them as you need them. You should also consider what other people at your institute use. You might be able to use their glass plates in case that yours break or vice versa. Or in case you need to run more same sized gels at the same time. Currently we have biorad, cleaver and owl systems in our lab and from the point of ease of use I would say that Owl is slightly behind the other two.
Bio rad is good one. user friendly and single apparatus (mini) may be used for other application e.g. blotting, 2D etc.
I would choose Amersham ( Previously Pharmecia ) Vertical Slab system .It is very efficient with very good cooling system & in the second choice will be Bio rad. Remind you this will depend on what you want to do with the analyte ,after the electrophoresis ,Moreover Do you have high concentration of say proteins in your crude sample to start with, or low concentration .For myself I prefer using slab ,rather than the tubular ,since the former give me a better chance and more accurate result if my aim is comparison between say protein profile among different crude samples. meanwhile choosing the vertical one rather than the horizontal one ,give the chance for loading a large volume( up to 100 microliter, instead of 5-20 microliter) . Remind you the cost is a factor which limit your choice
Hi. I agree with Amersham, for the cooling, though BioRad accessories might be more easily available. However I strongly advise that you interest your institute in acquiring CZE instrumentation (capillary zone electrophoresis). One has better control and more components and with greater accuracy can be availed. I obtained data (not published) for preliminary treatment of phytotreatment of acute myeloid leukaemia. With page we observed no changes in protein composition. Yet when we used CZE we found the discrepancy. It is somehow costly, when comparing our monetary system, but the outcome is more learningful. Hope this helps.
I am going to go with the majority. I have used Biorad's PAGE system from 3 different labs and they all give consistently adequate results so can definitely recommend BioRad.
System from serva are also not too bad and a bit cheaper that the biorad
PAGE apparatus from "Atto' is also a gud apparatus as i have used..it is very user friendly with no leakage problem during gel casting. in case of BIO-RAD..main problem is casting of gel take too much time..
Try to save money using a cheaper instrument is sometimes more costly than investing in a good/reliable instrument from the beginning...In my opinion, BioRad is a safer option
When buying the power supply suggest the High-Current 3A (guess which company;)
This will allow you in the future semi-dry transfer for western-bloting if you will need.
No apparatus is better than your worst sample/experiment.
Just buy the one from the company that has the best offer and service in your area.
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