PEGs

Polyethylene glycols (PEG) is a straight chain polymer of repeating units that is available in a variety of lengths.  PEG is often used a crowding agent in aqueous solutions and molecular cloning.  PEGs has been shown to serve as an excellent stabilizing or precipitating agent in protein crystallization depending their concentration.

Addition uses include:

• Precipitation and purification of baceriophage particles.
• Precipitation of DNA molecules according to their size.
• Improve efficiency of associating of oligonucleotides during hybridization, blunt end ligation and end labeling of DNA with bacteriophage T4 polynucleotide kinase.
• Fusion of cultured cells with bacterial protoplasts or each other.