Product selection guide

Which DNA ladder should you use for an agarose gel?

Choose a DNA ladder with reference bands around the fragment sizes you expect. Yeasen 10515 covers 50–1,000 bp, DL5000 10504 covers 100–5,000 bp, and 1 kb ladder 10510 covers 250–12,000 bp. All three contain loading buffer; a DNA-visualisation stain is a separate requirement.

By Direct Lab Supplies · Guide updated 2 October 2026

Based on manufacturer specifications. Product documents and sources.

50 bp, 1 kb or DL5000: compare the actual bands

Start with the expected fragment size, then check the neighbouring reference bands. The name alone does not describe every band: Yeasen's 50 bp ladder has 50 bp intervals up to 400 bp, followed by 100 bp intervals to 1,000 bp. Its 1 kb ladder also includes bands below 1 kb.

Use the brighter reference bands to orient the pattern, then read the complete manufacturer band map when estimating size. These three ladders are specified for agarose gels, not recommended for polyacrylamide gels.

Yeasen DNA ladder ranges and reference bands
Product	Range and band count	Brighter reference bands
10515 · 50 bp DNA Ladder	50–1,000 bp · 14 bands	250 and 500 bp
10504 · DL5000 DNA Marker	100–5,000 bp · 9 bands	500 and 1,500 bp
10510 · 1 kb DNA Ladder	250–12,000 bp · 13 bands	1,500 and 4,000 bp

Sources: Yeasen 10515 specifications; Yeasen 10504 specifications; Yeasen 10510 specifications

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How much DNA ladder should you load?

The linked Yeasen manuals specify 5 µL of ladder for a conventional gel well. They note that wider wells may need more. This is guidance for these exact products, not a universal volume for every manufacturer's ladder.

Check the manual's gel concentration and running-buffer recommendations too: the instructions differ between the 50 bp, DL5000 and 1 kb products. Choose the gel conditions for the fragments you need to resolve.

Sources: Yeasen 10515 manual, EN20260401; Yeasen 10504 manual, EN20260401; Yeasen 10510 manual, EN20260401

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Do you add loading dye to these ready-to-use ladders?

No additional loading buffer is needed for the standard direct-loading use described by Yeasen: each ladder is already supplied in 1× loading buffer. The separate 5× DNA loading buffer in the pack is for preparing samples.

Loading buffer is not a DNA-visualisation stain. The manuals separately specify staining for imaging the DNA bands. Check that your laboratory has a suitable nucleic-acid stain and imaging setup; do not assume that ‘ready-to-use’ means the pack includes everything needed to visualise a gel.

Sources: Yeasen 10515 manual, EN20260401; Yeasen 10504 manual, EN20260401; Yeasen 10510 manual, EN20260401

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What does a 100 T DNA ladder pack provide?

For each of these products, the 100 T pack contains 500 µL of ladder plus 1 mL of separate 5× loading buffer. At the stated 5 µL ladder load, 500 ÷ 5 gives 100 ladder-lane loads before handling losses. This does not mean 100 PCR reactions or 100 sample lanes.

If you load a ladder at both ends of each gel, that volume supports 50 such gels before losses. Using a larger load reduces the number available. The 10×100 T format contains ten 500 µL ladder vials and ten 1 mL loading-buffer vials; compare the current pack prices below against your expected use.

Sources: Yeasen 10515 specifications; Yeasen 10504 specifications; Yeasen 10510 specifications; Yeasen 10515 manual, EN20260401; Yeasen 10504 manual, EN20260401; Yeasen 10510 manual, EN20260401

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Should you buy a larger DNA ladder pack?

The manuals permit storage at 2–8°C for up to six months or at −25°C to −15°C for up to two years, with repeated freezing and thawing avoided. The batch expiry date still applies. Match the pack to your likely consumption and available storage, not just the lowest nominal cost per load.

Choose a pack size that matches your expected use and the product’s storage life.

Sources: Yeasen 10515 manual, EN20260401; Yeasen 10504 manual, EN20260401; Yeasen 10510 manual, EN20260401

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