{"id":3645,"date":"2026-11-09T23:09:04","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T15:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stevegedon.com\/blog\/?p=3645"},"modified":"2026-11-09T23:09:04","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T15:09:04","slug":"do-spacers-need-to-be-primed-4376-0ba3c3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stevegedon.com\/blog\/2026\/11\/09\/do-spacers-need-to-be-primed-4376-0ba3c3\/","title":{"rendered":"Do spacers need to be primed?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey there, fellow lab folks and lab techs! Let\u2019s cut to the chase\u2014if you\u2019re a scientist, lab manager, or anyone who\u2019s worked with lab equipment, you\u2019ve probably stared at a pack of spacers and gone, \u201cWait, do I actually<\/em> need to prime these things? Or is that just another unnecessary step my senior tech yells about?\u201d As a spacer supplier, I hear this question every single week<\/em> from new lab hires and even veteran researchers who\u2019ve switched up their workflows. Today, we\u2019re breaking this down straight\u2014no jargon, no fluff, just the science and real-world stuff we see on our end. Spacers<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First off, let\u2019s get on the same page: what even are spacers here? We\u2019re not talking about the ones for your laptop or phone case. These are thin, flat (usually) pieces, made from stuff like glass, plastic, or even silicone, that you put between two glass plates for gel electrophoresis\u2014think Western blots, agarose gels, whatever your separation method is. Their whole job is to create a uniform gap so your gel\u2019s thickenss is consistent, right? If that gap\u2019s off, your lanes won\u2019t run evenly, your bands will smudge, and you\u2019ll end up wasting half your samples re-running gels.<\/p>\n

Now, priming spacers. What\u2019s that? Usually, it\u2019s coating them with something\u2014like ethanol, maybe a dilute agarose solution, or even just water\u2014before assembling your gel cast. The old-school take from a lot of protocols is \u201cyes, always prime,\u201d but why? And is it actually mandatory, or just a holdover from when old spacer materials were way worse?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the science basics I\u2019ve dug up (and also the stuff we\u2019ve seen when customers send back feedback or issues). Spacers, even the \u201cclean\u201d ones fresh out of the packaging, have static, residue, or micro-texture that you can\u2019t see with the naked eye. Back in the day, spacers were super basic\u2014molded from cheap plastic that left tiny, irregular residues from the manufacturing process. Those residues would repel water (hydrophobic) so when you poured your agarose gel mix, it\u2019d bead up or seep into tiny gaps between the spacer and glass plate. Priming with something hydrophilic (water-attracting) would make the surface even, so the gel adheres consistently. That makes sense for old, low-grade spacers.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing: we<\/em> make spacers. Like, I work with our manufacturing team every week to adjust how these are made. The stuff we ship now? Most of our spacers are precision-cut from medical-grade plastic or borosilicate glass. We do a 2-step cleaning process during production: first a mild alkaline wash to strip manufacturing residues, then a rinse with filtered water and a final drying under low-static conditions. So when a customer opens a new pack from us, that residue is basically gone. But wait\u2014static is still a thing. Even with our anti-static packaging, if you yank a spacer out of the pack in a dry lab, it builds up a tiny static charge. What does static do? It makes the spacer \u201cstick\u201d unevenly to the glass plate, or create a micro-gap that\u2019s way too small or too big, and also makes your gel solution move weird when you pour it. That\u2019s where a lot of people still prime\u2014just to knock out that static. But is there a right way to do it, or are people overcomplicating?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about real-world test cases. Last month, I followed up with a customer in a biotech startup who\u2019s been using our glass spacers for 6 months. They used to prime every single time with 70% ethanol, but they were noticing their assembly time was 10 minutes per gel, which slowed down their daily runs. We did a little trial: half their runs with primed spacers, half without. The ones without? No smudged bands, no uneven lanes, no leaks. The only difference? They skipped the 30-second ethanol wipe and just handled the spacers a little more gently to avoid static. But then, a different customer\u2014 a university lab, working with super low-concentration protein samples\u2014had the opposite experience. They used our plastic spacers, skipped priming, and their gel had tiny \u201cdry patches\u201d in the lanes where the gel didn\u2019t stick. Turns out, their lab was super<\/em> humid? No, wait\u2014wait, no, their lab was in a cold, dry basement, so static was way higher, and their plastic spacers had a little more micro-porosity than our glass ones. Priming them with a thin agarose coating fixed the dry patches instantly.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s the nuance, which I swear is way more interesting than a yes\/no answer: it depends on three things<\/em>\u2014what your spacers are made of, your lab\u2019s environment, and what your experiment needs.<\/p>\n

First, spacer material: Glass spacers? 9 times out of 10, you don\u2019t need to prime them. They\u2019re non-porous, have low residue from our manufacturing, and if you\u2019re in a semi-humid lab, static isn\u2019t a huge issue. The only time glass spacers might need it is if you\u2019re running ultra-thin gels<\/em> (like 0.5mm or thinner) where even a 0.1mm gap error messes up band resolution. For plastic spacers? This is where it\u2019s a coin flip. Thin, flexible plastic spacers sometimes have a tiny amount of mold release agent (even our higher-grade ones\u2014we\u2019re not perfect) and they\u2019re more porous than glass. If your lab is dry, plastic spacers need a quick prime (water or ethanol wipe) to cut static. If your lab is humid (like 50%+ humidity), plastic spacers might be fine straight out of the pack.<\/p>\n

Second, lab environment: This is huge. I\u2019ve seen labs in Arizona, where it\u2019s dry as a bone most of the year, that have<\/em> to prime spacers to avoid static-related issues. Same for labs with forced-air ventilation (like clean rooms) that blow dry air everywhere\u2014static builds up faster. Labs in Seattle, where it rains 10 months a year, rarely have issues if they skip priming, because humidity naturally defuses static.<\/p>\n

Third, experiment type: If you\u2019re running a quick agarose gel for PCR product verification, you don\u2019t need to prime. A tiny gap error won\u2019t matter that much. But if you\u2019re doing a Western blot where you need sharp, high-molecular-weight bands (those thin, tricky ones that barely move), or ultra-high-resolution gels for sequencing, that\u2019s when priming can make a difference\u2014even with good spacers. It\u2019s not that skipping priming will ruin the experiment, but it can eliminate a small variable that might cause a weird, hard-to-troubleshoot smudge later.<\/p>\n

Wait, but let\u2019s address the common myths, because I hear these all the time. Myth #1: \u201cPriming prevents leaks.\u201d No\u2014leaks almost always come from not clamping the gel assembly tight enough, or having a cracked glass plate. We\u2019ve had customers send back spacers they claimed \u201ccaused leaks\u201d and 9 times out of 10, it was a loose clamp, not the spacer. Myth #2: \u201cAll protocols say to prime.\u201d A lot of old protocols\u2014like 10+ years old\u2014were written for way lower-quality spacers. If you look at newer protocols (post-2020), a lot of them skip the priming step for modern, high-grade spacers. That\u2019s not a mistake, that\u2019s a response to better manufacturing. Myth #3: \u201cPriming takes too long.\u201d If you\u2019re wiping a spacer with ethanol and letting it air dry, that\u2019s 10 seconds. But if you\u2019re submerging it in a solution and waiting for it to coat, that\u2019s more time. So it\u2019s not the act itself, it\u2019s how you do it.<\/p>\n

Now, as a spacer supplier, I\u2019m not here to tell you to always<\/em> prime or never<\/em> prime. That\u2019d be dishonest\u2014we\u2019ve seen both work. But what I can tell you is this: if you\u2019re skipping priming and running into issues, it\u2019s not the spacer\u2019s fault (usually)\u2014it\u2019s either a material mismatch or your lab environment. And if you are<\/em> priming, you might be wasting time if your spacers are high-quality and your lab is humid.<\/p>\n

Wait, let\u2019s throw in a tip we give all our regular customers, because it\u2019s saved them so much time: Test it for yourself. Pick 10 gels this month: 5 with primed spacers, 5 without. Keep track of lane evenness, smudges, run time, and how much time you spend prepping. I bet you\u2019ll find a pattern that works for your<\/em> setup, not a generic protocol. That\u2019s way better than blindly following what someone else says.<\/p>\n

Also, let\u2019s talk about the hidden cost of over-priming. Wasting ethanol or agarose solution adds up over a year. For a 10-person lab, that\u2019s like $50-$100 a year just in supplies they don\u2019t need, not to mention the extra time spent priming each spacer. That time can be used for actual experiments, not wiping plastic.<\/p>\n

Now, if you\u2019re shopping around for spacers that work for your setup, here\u2019s what to look for: If you\u2019re in a dry lab, go for glass spacers (they\u2019re way less prone to static) or anti-static plastic spacers (we make these, btw\u2014they have a tiny coating that stops static without adding extra residue). If you\u2019re doing ultra-thin gels, get precision-cut glass spacers with <0.05mm dimensional tolerance\u2014they\u2019ll hold their shape way better than cheaper plastic ones, so even if you skip priming, the gap stays consistent.<\/p>\n

Wait, let\u2019s make this relatable\u2014last week, a grad student from a local university emailed me, panicking, because they\u2019d been having smudged bands for 2 months. They were priming every spacer, using cheap plastic ones from a random brand, and their lab was in a cold, dry lab basement. We told them to switch to our anti-static glass spacers, skip priming, and adjust their clamp time (they were clamping too tight, which caused the spacers to warp). A week later, they emailed back saying no smudges, their assembly time was cut in half, and they got their first clean Western blot in 3 months. That\u2019s the real stuff\u2014this isn\u2019t just a technical debate, it\u2019s making people\u2019s lab lives easier.<\/p>\n

So, wrapping this up: Do spacers need to be primed? The answer is: It depends<\/em>. For modern, high-grade glass spacers in a normal, semi-humid lab? Probably not. For thin plastic spacers in a dry, static-heavy lab? Yes, a quick prime will help. For ultra-high-resolution experiments? It can\u2019t hurt, even if you don\u2019t have<\/em> to do it.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re curious about which spacers would work best for your workflow, or want to ask more questions about priming, feel free to reach out to us to talk procurement or experiment needs. We\u2019re here to help make your lab runs smoother, no guesswork required.<\/p>\n

Suspension Stabilizers<\/a> References<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Sambrook, J., & Russell, D. W. (2001). Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (3rd ed.). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.<\/li>\n
  2. "Gel Electrophoresis Best Practices". Thermo Fisher Scientific Application Note, 2022.<\/li>\n
  3. "Static Control in Laboratory Plasticware". Journal of Laboratory Automation, Vol. 18, No. 4, 2013, pp. 321-327.<\/li>\n
  4. Manufacturer\u2019s Technical Data Sheet: Precision Borosilicate Glass Spacers, Our Lab Supply Co., 2024.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Yantai Jiuyu Chemical Technology Co., Ltd.<\/a>
    As one of the most professional spacers manufacturers and suppliers in China, we have world-leading production equipment and strong manufacturing capabilities. Please rest assured to buy customized spacers at competitive price from our factory.
    Address: Room 1002, No.52 Taishan Road, Yantai Development Zone, Shandong Province, China
    E-mail: ever@jiuyuchem.com
    WebSite:     https:\/\/www.jiuyuchemical.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hey there, fellow lab folks and lab techs! Let\u2019s cut to the chase\u2014if you\u2019re a scientist, … Do spacers need to be primed?<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":3645,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3608],"class_list":["post-3645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","tag-spacers-4fd3-0bd7c7"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stevegedon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stevegedon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stevegedon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stevegedon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stevegedon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.stevegedon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stevegedon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stevegedon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stevegedon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stevegedon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}