TABLE OF CONTENTS Electrophoresis is defined as the separation (migration) of charged particles through a solution or gel, under the influence of an electrical field.
The rate of movement of particle depends on the following factors.
The charge of the particle
Applied electric field
Temperature
Nature of the suspended medium.
Gel electrophoresis is a method that separates macromolecules either nucleic acids or proteins on the basis of size, electric charge, and other physical properties. A gel is a colloid in a solid form. The term electrophoresis describes the migration of charged particles under the influence of an electric field. Electro refers to the energy of electricity. Phoresis, from the Greek verb phoros, means to carry across. Thus, gel electrophoresis refers to the technique in which molecules are forced across a span of gel, motivated by an electrical current. Activated electrodes at either end of the gel provide the driving force. A molecule s properties determine how rapidly an electric field can move the molecule through a gelatinous medium.
Many important biological molecules such as amino acids, peptides, proteins, nucleotides, and nucleic acids, possess ionizable groups and, therefore, at any given pH, exist in solution as electrically charged species, either as cations (+) or anions ( ?). Depending on the nature of the net charge, the charged particles will migrate to either the cathode or the anode.
Gel electrophoresis is a technique used for the separation of nucleic acids and proteins. Separation...
