Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) Oligos

Contents

1. Account
2. Oligo Purity
3. Long Oligos (>60 nt)
4. Storing the Oligo

1. Account

Please create an IDT account via the ICMB portal. The benefits include:

• IDT doesn’t charge shipping for ICMB purchases
• The prices are much lower (negotiated ICMB rate)
• Sign up at: http://www.idtdna.com/ICMBSupplyCenter/Login.aspx

2. Oligo Purity

For PCR and routine cloning, purchase the cheapest (25 nm scale, de-salted, no purification) oligos. Anything else adds time and money to your order. We frequently need oligos with common modifications:

• Phosphorylation – Unless absolutely required by your assay, you probably don’t need purification
• Biotin – PAGE-purification is best
• DIG, Cy3, or other exotic label – IDT will probably request HPLC purification

3. Long Oligos (>60 nt)

If you’re using the oligo for routine cloning or PCR mutagenesis, you can probably just ignore their warning and order the oligo without additional purification. Your oligo may be contaminated with shorter synthesis products, but that will not impact your cloning results.

PAGE purification is appropriate when you’re planning to use this oligo in a biochemical assay. All purification strategies lose a large percentage of the oligo, so expect significantly lower yields.

4. Storing the Oligo

Your oligos will arrive lyophilized in a little tube. Now what?

1. Spin down the tubes for a few seconds to make sure the powder, which can be invisible, collects at the bottom.
2. Resuspend to a final oligo concentration of 100µM with TE (10 mM TrisCl pH 8, 1 mM EDTA) or Te (10 mM TrisCl pH 8, 0.1 mM EDTA). The nmoles of oligo is written on the tube and can be calculated easily.
3. Update your personal oligo records with the oligo information.

Oligos are stored at -20C and are stable forever.

Read more about oligo handling here: https://www.idtdna.com/pages/support/technical-vault/faq/application-support