Electrophoresis

Buying guide

The specification that settles most purchases in this category is the pairing of the separation unit with its power supply, because the two are bought and used as a system. A power supply is rated by its maximum voltage, current and wattage, and a gel tank needs a supply that reaches the voltage its run protocol calls for. Standard agarose DNA separations run at low voltage over a wide tank, while protein work by SDS-PAGE and sequencing-grade runs demand higher voltage from a programmable supply. Before anything else, read what a listing states for voltage and current range, and confirm it matches the runs the buyer actually performs. A supply too small for a vertical protein rig, or a tank with no compatible leads, is a mismatch no price makes good.

On a used unit, the electrical hardware is what to verify. Power supplies carry no consumables and age mostly in their internals, so a buyer wants evidence the output holds steady under load and that the safety interlocks on the lid and leads still function. Gel tanks and their platinum electrode wires corrode and foul with buffer salts over years of service, and a cracked casting or a broken electrode is a repair, not a wipe-down. Ask what condition the electrodes and seals are in, and whether the unit was tested powered up rather than only inspected cold. Questpair lists used and refurbished units at lower prices than new, and warranty on a given listing is arranged in consultation with the supplier, so a buyer weighing a used instrument should raise that against the specific item.

Price in this category spreads very wide, which reflects how different the hardware is at each end. A used bench power supply or a simple horizontal gel tank sits near the bottom of the range, well within a modest budget, and these are the units a teaching lab or a routine DNA bench buys for sale at a fraction of new cost. At the top sit automated and capillary systems that cost as much as a small instrument, because they fold the separation, detection and analysis into one box. The average listing lands far below the ceiling, so most of the catalogue is affordable workhorse hardware rather than the automated end. Invitrogen, Bio-Rad and Life Technologies account for much of the mid-range, where parts availability and model-to-model comparison are easiest, while Agilent occupies the automated tier.

Types of Electrophoresis

Which electrophoresis types are listed?

Among the listings that specify a type, most fall into two groups that work together on the bench. Gel electrophoresis systems are the separation hardware itself: the tank, the casting tray and the comb that forms the wells, in horizontal format for agarose DNA and RNA work and vertical format for polyacrylamide protein separations. Electrophoresis power supplies and laboratory power supplies are the units that drive them, rated by voltage and current and bought to match the tank. Automated electrophoresis systems form a smaller, higher-value group that combines separation with on-board detection, used where throughput or reproducibility matters more than cost. The broader molecular biology equipment and electrophoresis equipment entries cover units that sit alongside these on the same bench.

This hardware does molecular biology at its core. Agarose gel electrophoresis is the standard readout for PCR and cloning, where a researcher checks whether a reaction produced the expected DNA fragment. SDS-PAGE and native polyacrylamide gels do protein separation and are the first step in western blotting, protein purification and proteomics workflows. Capillary and automated gel systems serve genomics and molecular diagnostics, where nucleic acid fragment sizing and quality control feed into sequencing and genotyping. These separations are also used for immunoassay development and electrophoresis-based nucleic acid analysis across cell biology and microbiology benches.

The brands behind the electrophoresis listings

The catalogue is led by Invitrogen, Bio-Rad, Life Technologies, Agilent, Hoefer. For a buyer, that concentration is useful: Bio-Rad and Invitrogen gel systems are widely documented, their consumables and replacement parts are easy to source, and comparing one listed model against another is straightforward because the ranges are familiar. Life Technologies and Hoefer cover established protein and nucleic acid formats, and Agilent appears at the automated end. Parts for any of these can be sourced via Questpair.

What a used electrophoresis system costs here

Condition skews heavily toward pre-owned: 95 percent of the listings are used. Prices range from EUR 17 to EUR 40.817, a spread that covers simple power supplies and horizontal gel tanks at the low end and automated instrumentation at the high end, with the average listing near EUR 1.693. Used and refurbished units are listed below new prices, and warranty on any specific item is arranged in consultation with the supplier.