BioCorp

Frequently Asked Questions:

Technical:

I have my oligos, now what?

How do I calculate the OD and make a working solution?

How should I store my oligos?

Is there a (Phosphate/Trityl/Protective group) on my oligo?

I can't see any of my oligo on an agarose gel, but my PCR product looks fine, why is this?

What should I know about Phosphorothioate oligos?

what should I know about Fluorescent oligos?

Are my oligos Desalted?

Administrative:

I would like to order a large batch of oligos, can I arrange a better price?

I have a packing list, what should I do with it?

What is your privacy policy

How does the billing work?

I have a problem with my invoice

I would like to look up an old order, can I do this?

How can I reorder a previously ordered sequence?


Technical:

I have my oligos, now what?

Check that the names/sequences are correct. Resuspend your oligo and verify the OD, make a working solution, and freeze the stock solution. If you received a packing list, sign it and send it to your Accounts Payable.

How do I calculate the OD and make a working solution?

see our Technical Notes

How should I store my oligos?

Properly, after OD verification, one should aliquot out and dilute up enough for daily use and freeze the stock solution. The working solution can be stored at 4°C. Oligos can normally be left on the bench for an extended period, but it is safer to keep them in the fridge at 4°C. The stock solution should be kept at -20°C and avoid repeated freeze/thaws.

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Is there a (phosphate/Trityl/Protective group) on my oligo?

No. Unless we get a special request, all oligos are supplied detritylated and deprotected. The 3′ and 5′ ends are free hydroxyls,there is no phosphate.

I can't see any of my oligo on an agarose gel, but my PCR product looks fine, why is this?

Ethidium Bromide intercolates between the strands of double-stranded DNA, but it is very poor at staining single-stranded DNA. For visualizing oligos, polyacrylamide gels should be used with UV-shadow. See our technical notes for directions.

What should I know about Phosphorothioate oligos?

Phosphorothioate oligos are more hydrophobic than regular DNA and will take longer to resuspend. It is recommended that they resuspend for an extended period with intermittent vortexing. Where possible, a small percentage of an organic solvant such as Acetonitrile may be used.

Also, phosphorothioates seem to quench ethidium bromide, so oligos should only be visualised by UV-shadow on polyacrylamide gels.

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What should I know about Fluorescent oligos?

Fluorescent oligos should be kept away from light and heat. The fluorescent group is hydrophobic. This won't affect resuspension of the oligo, but will affect affinity processes such as reverse-phase HPLC.

Are my oligos Desalted?

There are several sources of 'salts' in oligos, the most common being the removed protective groups and ammonium salts from the deprotection process.

Desalting involves either a column, or precipitation of your oligo. Both processes are inefficient and cause loss of product. OPC also desalts while purifying at basically the same cost. Many companies offer 'desalted' oligos that are not truly desalted, and we have found that for most work, desalting is not necessary if the oligo is treated properly after synthesis.

We use a process that minimises the amount of salts and we have decided to market our oligos as 'Low-Salt', suitable for almost all uses. The two exceptions are if the oligos are to be run on an MS or if you are labeling them with T4 PNK. In this case we recommend OPC or HPLC purity.

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Administrative

I would like to order a large batch of oligos, can I arrange a better price?

Lower prices aren't just for contract work, we can also arrange pricing adjustments on as little as a few hundred oligos for a specific project. Especially if they involved modified oligos, such as Fluorescents.

I have a packing slip, what should I do with it?

The packing slip indicates to your purchasing department that you have received your order. It should be signed and sent to them.

What is your privacy policy?

See Here. In brief, we will not share any data on you, or your orders with anyone without your expressed permission.

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How does the billing work?

You may pay be Credit Card or Purchase Order. If you pay by Credit Card, you are billed when the oligos are made. You will receive an invoice with your order.

There are two types of purchase orders, a blanket order or a one-use PO. If your institution has a blanket order, there is no need to supply this information with your orders, and we will send the invoice to your Accounts Payable department.

Otherwise, you need to supply a purchase order with your order so that we can put this on your packing list. A signed packing list is sent to your Accounts Payable by you or your Receiving so we can be paid.

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I have a problem with my invoice

Please contact our Accounts Receivable, either by phone or by our Feedbck Form

I would like to look up an old order, can I do this?

Sure, use our Feedback Form and give us any information you have and we will do a search. Please note that due to privacy restrictions, we may require authorization from the lab supervisor.

How can I reorder a previously ordered sequence?
I've lost my datasheets, how can I get information on what's in a tube?

You may send the order again, with the name and sequence, or you may just send the oligo ID number on the tube. This is a two-letter code followed by four digits.
Information can be requested on an oligo by quoting the Oligo ID code, or on an order by quoting the invoice number. Just use our Online Feedback Form

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