Janet B. Matsen:Closed Lab Questions

Back to Janet

I define "closed" as "not bothering me incessantly." One can always learn more but we have to stop at a point otherwise we would never move forward with our research!

If you have any input/corrections/references please drop [User:Janet B. Matsen|me] a line.

Colony PCR

• Q: The gel is dark where I loaded it -- what does this mean?
  • A: It probably means you overloaded the PCR with too many cells.

Primers/Oligos

Should I pay extra to further purify large bp oligos?

• Usually no. The sequencing companies just want your money. Do sequence your creations to confirm that you made what you expected and remember you can always screen a new colony if the first one looks bad.

My primers are yellow!

• Don't worry -- this is normal!

  

  normal oligos have a yellow color that is visible with large synthesis scales

BioBricks

The parts in the registry have sequence that don't include the prefix & suffix... do they come with it?

• Yes, they come with a prefix/suffix. You can find which BioBrick method a part is compatable with under the part's "Assembly Compatibility" listing. Most are RFC 10 (http://partsregistry.org/partsdb/scars.cgi), the standard format.