Lithium borate 2009397 223330023 2008-07-03T16:27:19Z Kirikou fr 5168652 {{Chembox new | Name = Lithium boric acid | ImageFile = Lithium_borate.jpg <!-- | ImageSize = 200px --> | ImageName = Lithium boric acid | OtherNames = Lithium borate<br /> | Section1 = {{Chembox Identifiers | CASNo = 12007-60-2 }} | Section2 = {{Chembox Properties | Formula = Li<sub>2</sub>B<sub>4</sub>O<sub>7</sub> | MolarMass = 169.11 g/mol | Appearance = white powder | Density = 2.4 g/cm<sup>3</sup>, solid | Solubility = moderately soluble | MeltingPt = 917°C | BoilingPt = }} | Section7 = {{Chembox Hazards | ExternalMSDS = [http://www.physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/LI/lithium_borate.html External MSDS] | NFPA-H = 2 | NFPA-R = 0 | NFPA-F = 0 }} }} '''Lithium borate''' ([[Lithium|Li<sub>2</sub>]][[Boron|B<sub>4</sub>]][[Oxygen|O<sub>7</sub>]]) is the [[lithium]] [[salt]] of [[boric acid]]. ==Uses== Lithium borate can be used in the laboratory as buffer for [[gel electrophoresis]] of [[DNA]] and [[RNA]]. It has a lower [[conductivity]], produces crisper resolution, and can be run at higher speeds than can gels made from TBE or TAE (5-50V/cm as compared to 5-10V/cm). At a given voltage, the heat generation and thus the gel temperature is much lower than with TBE/TAE buffers, therefore the voltage can be increased to speed up electrophoresis so that a gel run takes only a fraction of the usual time. Downstream applications, such as isolation of DNA from a gel slice or [[Southern blot]] analysis, work as expected with lithium boric acid gels. Lithium borate is also an ingredient for use in making [[glass]]es and [[ceramic]]s. The recipe for 1 liter of 20X lithium borate (LB) DNA electrophoresis buffer is as follows: To 950 mL of dH2O, add 8.392 g of [[lithium hydroxide]] monohydrate and 36 g of [[boric acid]], pH should be near 8.2. Adjust volume to 1 L and filter sterilize. This yields a final working concentration of ~10 mM lithium borate and a pH of 8.5. No [[EDTA]] is used because this would increase conductivity and is unnecessary in most applications.(adapted from<ref>Brody, J.R., Kern, S.E.,Sodium boric acid: a tris-free, cooler conductive medium for DNA electrophoresis, ''BioTechniques'', 36(2), pp.214-215, 2004.</ref>) [[Sodium borate]] is similar to lithium borate and has nearly all of its advantages at a somewhat lower cost, but the lithium buffer permits use of even higher voltages due to the lower conductivity of lithium ions as compared to sodium ions. <!-- When dealing with lithium boric acid, avoid [[strong acid]]s. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} Lithium Borate is a salt, not an acid. Boric acid is weak enough to be available in drug stores as an antiseptic. --> ==References== <references/> ==External links== * [http://www.npi.gov.au/database/substance-info/profiles/15.html National Pollutant Inventory - Boron and compounds] [[Category:Acids]] [[Category:Borates]] [[Category:Lithium compounds]] [[Category:Inorganic compound stubs]] [[ar:بورات ليثيوم]] [[fr:borate de lithium]]