Gel eletrophoresis with Food Coloring by M. Williamson is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
Biotechnology Lab
Would you like to be able to cure tragic diseases, alleviate world hunger, and clean up the environment? While these may have once seemed impossible feats, progress on each is being made using biotechnology.
The fast-growing field of biotechnology combines biological sciences with technological advances. With biotechnology, biological materials and processes are used to produce a variety of useful products, such as fuel, medicine, food, and information. Thanks to biotechnology, we can now mass produce human insulin for diabetics, create biofuels with bacteria, and modify crops like rice and corn to be more resistant to disease and pests.
There are many tools used in biotechnology. In this lab you will learn to use a few of the most commonly used tools, like micropipettes, microcentrifuges, and gel electrophoresis.
NOTE: This lab is appropriate for science students in upper high school and lower level undergraduate courses where gel electrophoresis is introduced and the use of micropipeters is introduced.
Objectives:
- Define biotechnology and discuss its uses.
- Demonstrate proper use of a micropipette to move small volumes of liquid.
- Define transformation.
- Perform gel electrophoresis and interpret the results.
- Observe transformation in E. coli and discuss the difference between DNA and protein
Materials you will need:
We recommend all students wear lab coats and gloves.
| Perishable Materials | Cost per year | Cost per student |
| pGLO transformation kit | 108 | 0.083 |
| Agarose | 121.5 | 0.093 |
| Baking Soda | 2.25 | 0.002 |
| Food coloring | 2.025 | 0.002 |
| 1.5 ml tubes | 283.5 | 0.218 |
| 0.5-10 ul tips | 3.15 | 0.002 |
| 20-200 ul tips | 4.05 | 0.003 |
| Weigh boats | 81.9 | 0.063 |
| Total | $606.38 | 0.466 |
| Nonperishable materials | Amount needed |
| P200 Micropipettes | 1/student |
| P10 or P20 Micropipettes | 1/lab group |
| Silicone Gels | 1/student |
| Gel electrophoresis chamber with power supply | 1/lab group |
| Gel trays | 1/lab group |
| Gel combs | 1/lab group |
| 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask | At least 1 |
See the Biotechnology Techniques Lab Memo, and the Biotech Prep Notes
Ready to try the lab?
These are OER materials, and as such, can be adapted or changed. We have licensed this activity using Creative Commons Licensing. Please respect our request for appropriate usage.
Biotech Lab for Fall 2023 (PDF version)