Kits and Equipment

The module contains materials for two complete ‘runs’ of the lambda protocol, each with eight students or working groups.

•2 foam floaters
•8 sheets of carbon fibre electrode material, each 10 cm x 10 cm
•300 white pipette tips, graduated at 2 and 10 µL
•8 x 1.5 mL bromophenol blue loading dye
•16 empty tubes + caps (yellow)
•16 tubes of dried lambda DNA + caps
•16 tubes of dried EcoRI restriction enzyme (red)
•16 tubes of dried BamHI restriction enzyme (blue)
•16 tubes of dried HindIII restriction enzyme (green)
•50 mL TBE buffer (10x concentrate)
•50 mL Azure A stain for DNA (2x concentrate)
•2 g DNA electrophoresis-grade agarose
•8 copies of the 8-page Student’s guide (full colour)
•1 Teacher's guide

You will also need several other items to use this module. Please refer to the NCBE web site link below:

This kit provides sufficient materials to make attractive pendants containing DNA extracted from human cheek cells. It is ideal for science demonstrations on open days, feeder school visits, pupil incentives or fund-raising events such as school fetes.

The kit contains materials for making 30 pendants.
•30 full-colour pictorial instruction cards
•1 black-and-white instruction sheet (photocopy master)
•30 glass vials
•neoprene rubber strip to make stoppers for vials
•30 aluminium caps for glass vials
•30 lengths of black waxed cord for the pendants
•30 disposable sterile swabs
•30 disposable plastic pipettes
•30 5 mL graduated extraction tubes
•50 mL of DNA extraction buffer
•1 tube of 'Superglue'

You will also need a small volume of ethanol to use this item. Please refer to the NCBE web site link below:

This module contains sufficient materials for the analysis of 96 protein samples.

•8 pieces of carbon fibre electrode tissue
•6 g high-grade agarose, suitable for electrophoresis of proteins
•50 mL TB electrophoresis buffer (a 10x concentrate)
•50 mL Laemmli buffer
•2 x 100 mL Colloidal Coomassie Blue stain
•100 multi-coloured 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tubes
•100 micropipette tips
•8 1 mL plastic syringes
•3 mL SDS solution (10%)
•Approx. 100 mm 5 mm dia. silicone rubber tubing
•8 full-colour students’ guides
•1 full-colour teacher’s guide

You will also need several other items to use this module. Please refer to the NCBE web site link below:

The module contains materials for 2 complete ‘runs’ of the ‘Nature’s dice’ protocol, each with 24 students or working groups.

•1 fixed-volume 25 µL Minipipet
•25 µg 1 kb DNA ‘ruler’
•DNA samples
•48 tubes of dried BamHI restriction enzyme (blue)
•48 1.5 mL microcentrifuge tubes
•Floating tube holder
•2 g DNA electrophoresis-grade agarose
•100 white pipette tips, graduated at 2 and 10 µL
•8 sheets of carbon fibre electrode material, 10 cm x 10 cm
•50 mL TBE buffer (10x concentrate)
•8 x 1.5 mL bromophenol blue loading dye
•50 mL Azure A stain for DNA (2x concentrate)
•8 copies of the Student’s guide (full colour)
•Teacher’s guide

You will also need several other items to use this module. Please refer to the NCBE web site link below:

This kit, which is based on one formerly supplied by Science and Plants for Schools (SAPS), allows students to investigate photosynthesis using algae immobilised in calcium alginate.

The kit contains:
•Syringes, 15
•7 mL Bijou bottles, 75
•Envelope with six filters (Red, green, blue, ND 0.15, ND 0.3 and ND 0.6)
•Hydrogencarbonate indicator, 250 mL of 10x concentrate
•Sodium alginate, 4?g
•Culture of Scenedesmus quadricauda, ~20 mL
•Enrichment medium, 3?g
•Students’ guides, 8
•Teacher’s guide

You will also need several other items to use this kit. Please refer to the NCBE web site link below:

This module allows students to amplify chloroplast DNA using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The length of the fragments produced can be used to infer evolutionary relationships.

The module contains the consumable materials for the extraction, amplification, and gel electrophoresis of 16 chloroplast DNA samples plus one negative control. The kit includes:
•4 plant DNA extraction (FTA) cards
•4 punches and cutting boards
•Reagents needed for extracting plant DNA
•Disposable microcentrifuge tubes
•2 floating tube holders
•Primers for the PCR
•17 ‘Ready-to-Go’ PCR reaction beads
•1 fixed-volume 20 µL Minipipet
•1 mL syringes and graduated tips
•8 sheets of carbon fibre electrode material, 10 cm x 10 cm
•2 g DNA electrophoresis-grade agarose
•50 mL TBE buffer (10x concentrate)
•8 x 1.5 mL bromophenol blue loading dye
•25 µg 1 kb DNA ‘ruler’
•50 mL Azure A stain for DNA (2x concentrate)
•8 copies of the Student’s guide (full colour)
•Teacher’s guide

You will also need several other items to use this module. Please refer to the NCBE web site link below:

The electrophoresis base unit contains eight sets of low-voltage electrophoresis equipment and dispensing units:

•8 NCBE gel tanks
•8 4-toothed combs
•8 6-toothed combs
•8 pairs of wires with crocodile clips
•8 microsyringe dispensing units (without tips)

This 12 volt microcentrifuge holds eight standard (1.5 mL) microcentrifuge tubes, and, unlike many small microcentrifuges, will spin at up to 13,000 rpm (8,500 g), which is sufficient to spin down plasmid DNA, for example.

Please note that the centrifuge requires a variable 6–12 volt (1200 mA maximum) DC mains transformer, which is not supplied. However, suitable transformers can be purchased online e.g., Masterplug 1200 mA AC/DC Mains adapter (Model MVA 1200-MP) is suitable.

This inexpensive, safe, 36 volt mains transformer allows four NCBE gel tanks to be powered simultaneously. Gels typically take two hours to run at this voltage.

Pack of three closed cell foam floaters, with holes for 1.5 mL and 0.2 or 0.5 mL tubes

With readily-available chemicals (such as methylene blue), this fuel cell can be used to generate a small electrical current from the metabolic activities of ordinary yeast.

The microbial fuel cell is ideal for investigations of respiration and students have even won prizes with it at international science fairs.

You will also need:

•Potassium hexacyanoferrate (III)
•Methylene blue
•Yeast
•Glucose
•J-cloth (or similar non-woven cleaning cloth)
•Chemicals for making phosphate buffer, pH 7
•10 mL syringes, 2
•Scissors
•Electrical leads and voltmeter

Ultraviolet keyring-style torches, as provided with the NCBE Bacterial transformation kit (2).

Pack of eight microsyringes (to be used with graduated white tips).

Kit for tissue culture of cauliflower.

This pack contains sufficient TLC sheets, tips and microcentrifuge tubes for 20 students (that is, 6 sheets, each 5 cm x 20 cm).

This pack contains sufficient TLC sheets, tips and microcentrifuge tubes for 50 students (that is, 14 TLC sheets, each 5 cm x 20 cm).

Genetic modification is an essential technique in research, medicine and plant breeding. This kit with green fluorescent protein is designed for use by 14–16 year-old students.

For more information, please see the relevant page on the NCBE web site:

A crime scene investigation kit, in which the students get to undertake gel electrophoresis.

Synthetic biology and genetic engineering is a fast paced area of biology and is covered in the A-level biology syllabus. Our synthetic biology kit allows students to practically experience synthetic biology.