What is one advantage of using agarose gel over polyacrylamide in electrophoresis?

Using agarose gel in electrophoresis offers several practical advantages, particularly when it comes to cost and ease of preparation. Agarose is a naturally occurring polysaccharide derived from seaweed, making it generally more economical than polyacrylamide, which requires specific reagents (such as acrylamide and bis-acrylamide) and a careful polymerization process that involves the use of toxic chemicals.

Preparing agarose gels involves simple steps: dissolving agarose powder in buffer and heating it until melted, then allowing it to cool in a gel tray. This straightforward preparation process saves time and minimizes the risk of exposure to harmful substances, making it an excellent choice for many laboratories, especially those with limited resources or for undergraduate labs.

In contrast, other methods may require meticulous handling and special equipment, increasing the complexity and potential costs of using polyacrylamide gels. This makes agarose gels particularly appealing for routine applications in molecular biology, such as DNA and RNA electrophoresis.

While agarose may not achieve the same level of resolution for smaller proteins compared to polyacrylamide, its advantages in cost and ease of use are significant factors that often lead researchers to choose agarose gels for specific applications.