An equation for calculating the volumetric ratios required in a ligation reaction.

The ligation of two DNA fragments to create a new plasmid DNA molecule is a key reaction in molecular biology. Where the fragment lengths and concentrations are known, existing equations allow the desired relative molar ratio to be calculated, but this must then be related to the required volumes. Further calculations are then necessary if the maximum available volume is to consist of DNA solutions. The equation presented here allows the simple calculation of volumes of DNA solutions required to obtain a desired molar insert-to-vector ratio, and these can comprise all of the available volume in a ligation if required, thus maximising the yield of the recombinant plasmid.