TAE Buffer

TAE buffer is a buffer solution containing a mixture of Tris base, acetic acid and EDTA.

In molecular biology it is used in agarose electrophoresis typically for the separation of nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA. It is made up of Tris-acetate buffer, usually at pH 8.0, and EDTA, which sequesters divalent cations. TAE has a lower buffer capacity than TBE and can easily become exhausted, but linear, double stranded DNA runs faster in TAE.

Recently, Brody & Kern simplified electrophoretic buffers by substituting TBE and TAE buffers for a more efficient and inexpensive conductive media in gel systems.