Sigma-Aldrich A4018-5G Agarose, Low Gelling Temperature, 5G

Agarose is a polymer extracted from agar or agar-bearing marine algae. This purified linear galactan hydrocolloid comprises alternating co-polymers D-galactose and 3,6-anhydro-L-galactose units connected by α-(1→3) and β-(1→4) glycosidic bonds. Agarose is highly biocompatible and possesses variable mechanical and diffusion properties. Agarose can be used as a gelling agent, to separate nucleic acids electrophoretically. Low melting or low gelling temperature agarose is produced by hydroxyethylation of agarose. It is usually used for the isolation of separated DNA fragments. DNA fragments of the equal size will take longer time to move through a low melting agarose gel compared to a standard agarose gel.

Application

• Gels exhibit excellent clarity and are particularly useful for the preparation of media containing heat-labile materials. Recommended for preparation of agarose beads.
• Agarose, low gelling temperature has been used:
• to immobilize zebra fish embryos during in vivo imaging experiments
• as a constituent of defined medium to culture bovine nucleus pulposus (NP) cells
• as a hydrogel, a scaffolding material for dental pulp regeneration
• in the form of pellets to determine the surface pH and conductivity of an acrylic emulsion film