Criterion Precast Gels

The precast gels available for the Criterion™ system are 13.3 x 8.7 cm polyacrylamide gels in single-use cassettes. This gel size provides reproducible, high-resolution results with fast setup, loading, and run times.

For 2-D applications, the Criterion IPG combs are designed to hold 11 cm ReadyStrip™ IPG strips, which provide 35% more focusing area in the first-dimension separation and 20% more gel area in the second dimension than mini systems using 7 cm strips. A sample well for protein standards is also included.

Criterion precast gels for 2-D applications are available in TGX™, TGX Stain-Free™, Bis-Tris, Tris-acetate, and Tris-HCl formulations.

The new Criterion™ TGX™ (Tris-Glycine eXtended) precast gels for PAGE are based on the long shelf life TGX formulation. The TGX gels retain Laemmli-like separation characteristics using the standard sample and Tris/glycine running buffers. The proteins in the gel can be separated in as little as 20 min at 300 V while maintaining low temperatures.

TGX and Tris-HCl gels are manufactured without SDS. These gels can be used to run proteins under nondenaturing conditions for subsequent analysis of their native conformation and activity by omitting SDS from the running buffer. SDS is added to the sample and running buffer to create standard SDS denaturing electrophoresis conditions.

Criterion gels are packaged and sold in individual units: 1–2 gels can be run in the Criterion cell and 1–12 gels can be run in the high-throughput Criterion™ Dodeca™ cell.