4 - Electrophoresis of Proteins in Polyacrylamide Slab Gels

Abstract

This chapter discusses the electrophoresis of proteins in polyacrylamide slab gels. The use of polyacrylamide gel as a stabilizing medium as compared to liquid or granular medium lies in its favorable properties. Polyacrylamide is chemically stable and inert, is insoluble in most solvents, may be used at widely varying pH, ionic strength, and temperature differences, can easily be prepared with varying pore sizes, is transparent, is available in highly pure analytical grade, and can be prepared with good reproducibility. The use of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to analyze and to separate complex mixtures of proteins and nucleic acids has greatly enhanced understanding of many cellular and viral systems. The simplicity of the equipment and its ease of operation, as well as the good reproducibility of the results, make the method preferable to many other techniques of analysis. In combination with two-dimensional techniques and isoelectric focusing, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis may prove to be the method of choice not only at the analytical level but also for preparative operations.