sodium borate nucleic acid electrophoresis buffer
Sodium Borate Electrophoresis Buffer (SBE buffer) is an excellent alternative to traditional TBE (TRIS borate-EDTA) and TAE (TRIS acetate-EDTA) electrophoresis buffers. SBE buffer allows for higher voltage runs, extremely rapid running times, and high-resolution band separation.
Brody and Kern described sodium borate buffer for nucleic acid electrophoresis several years ago (Sodium boric acid: a Tris-free, cooler conductive medium for DNA electrophoresis, Biotechniques 36, 214-216, Feb, 2004).
FYI - sodium borate buffers for gel electrophoresis are compatible with gel purification and most other applications.
You can buy pre-made sodium borate stock solutions or you can make it yourself. There is a recipe for 20X stock in the Brody and Kern article or here is one I found online:
for Borate Buffer: pH 7.4-9.2
Borax (sodium tetraborate) 0.2M = 76.2 gm/L
Na2B407*120H20 (MW = 381.37)
Boric acid 0.2M = 12.37 gm/L
H3BO3 (MW = 61.83)
Add boric acid to borax solution until desired pH is reached. Dilute to desired molarity with ddH20
