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Agarose
Heteropolysaccharide found in red algae / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Agarose is a heteropolysaccharide, generally extracted from certain red algae.[1] It is a linear polymer made up of the repeating unit of agarobiose, which is a disaccharide made up of D-galactose and 3,6-anhydro-L-galactopyranose.[2][3] Agarose is one of the two principal components of agar, and is purified from agar by removing agar's other component, agaropectin.[4]
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used for gel electrophoresis
Agarose is frequently used in molecular biology for the separation of large molecules, especially DNA, by electrophoresis. Slabs of agarose gels (usually 0.7 - 2%) for electrophoresis are readily prepared by pouring the warm, liquid solution into a mold. A wide range of different agaroses of varying molecular weights and properties are commercially available for this purpose. Agarose may also be formed into beads and used in a number of chromatographic methods for protein purification.