On the 17th of May 2016, we went to Novartis in Basel to carry out 3 experiments on the DNA of a bacteria (Escherichia Coli).
We were welcomed by Andrijana Kriz, doctor in biotechnology, who guided us during the experiments. The first experiment we carried out was the « purification of the DNA », it consisted in taking the plasmids out of the bacterias with a specific protocol. The second experiment was the « characterization of the DNA by restriction analysis », in this one, we had to put an enzyme into a sample and warm it for an hour and a half. And the last experiment was the « separation and highlighting of DNA fragments by electrophorese », for that, we had to put the sample into a gel with another enzyme and we applied electric current to it to separate different parts of the plasmids. We put the gel under UV light and waited to see a result and actually we could see the different fragments which had moved on the gel.

Joris Bertrand and Quentin Stepien