Free gel electrophoresis timer. Agarose DNA gels: 30–45 minutes. SDS-PAGE protein gels: 45–90 minutes. Time each stage from loading to staining. Start instantly.
Standard 1% agarose gel at 80–100V: 45–60 minutes. At 120V: 30–40 minutes. At 150V (faster but more heat): 20–30 minutes. Higher voltage produces faster migration but increases band diffusion and risk of melting the gel. Match voltage to your fragment size range and resolution requirements.
Standard SDS-PAGE (mini gel format): 45–60 minutes at 200V constant voltage. Gradient gels for better resolution: 60–90 minutes. Overnight low-voltage runs (40V, 12–16 hours) give sharper bands but are impractical for routine work. Pre-cast commercial gels often run faster due to optimised buffer systems.
Coomassie R-250 (traditional): stain 30–60 minutes, destain 2–4 hours with multiple changes of destain solution. Colloidal Coomassie (G-250): overnight staining, background clears without destaining. InstantBlue/SimplyBlue (modern): 15–30 minutes staining, no destain required.
Wet transfer to nitrocellulose: 60–90 minutes at 100V or overnight at 30V. Semi-dry transfer: 30–45 minutes. Dry transfer (iBlot, Trans-Blot Turbo): 7–10 minutes. Transfer efficiency depends on protein size — large proteins (>100 kDa) require longer transfer times or higher methanol-free conditions.
Yes — turn off the voltage briefly (up to 30 minutes) without significant effect on results. Bands will diffuse very slowly at zero voltage. Do not pause DNA gels in EtBr-containing buffer for extended periods. Pausing is useful when the timer indicates you need to leave before the run completes.