Electrophoresis

1. Illustration of electrophoresis

2. Illustration of electrophoresis retardation

In chemistry, electrophoresis is the motion of charged dispersed particles or dissolved charged molecules relative to a fluid under the influence of a spatially uniform electric field. As a rule, these are zwitterions. Electrophoresis of positively charged particles or molecules (cations) is sometimes called cataphoresis, while electrophoresis of negatively charged particles or molecules (anions) is sometimes called anaphoresis.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Electrophoresis is the basis for analytical techniques used in biochemistry for separating particles, molecules, or ions by size, charge, or binding affinity.[9]

Biochemist Arne Tiselius won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1948 "for his research on electrophoresis and adsorption analysis, especially for his discoveries concerning the complex nature of the serum proteins."[10]

In principle, electrophoresis is used in laboratories to separate macromolecules based on charge.[11] The technique normally applies a negative charge so proteins move towards a positive charge. It is used extensively in DNA, RNA and protein analysis.[12]

  1. ^ Lyklema, J. (1995). Fundamentals of Interface and Colloid Science. Vol. 2. p. 3.208.
  2. ^ Hunter, R.J. (1989). Foundations of Colloid Science. Oxford University Press.
  3. ^ Dukhin, S.S.; Derjaguin, B.V. (1974). Electrokinetic Phenomena. J. Wiley and Sons.
  4. ^ Russel, W.B.; Saville, D.A.; Schowalter, W.R. (1989). Colloidal Dispersions. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521341882.
  5. ^ Kruyt, H.R. (1952). Colloid Science. Vol. 1, Irreversible systems. Elsevier.
  6. ^ Dukhin, A.S.; Goetz, P.J. (2017). Characterization of liquids, nano- and micro- particulates and porous bodies using Ultrasound. Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-444-63908-0.
  7. ^ Anderson, J.L. (January 1989). "Colloid Transport by Interfacial Forces". Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics. 21 (1): 61–99. Bibcode:1989AnRFM..21...61A. doi:10.1146/annurev.fl.21.010189.000425. ISSN 0066-4189.
  8. ^ Michov, B. (2022). Electrophoresis Fundamentals: Essential Theory and Practice. De Gruyter, ISBN 9783110761627. doi:10.1515/9783110761641. ISBN 9783110761641.
  9. ^ Malhotra, P. (2023). Analytical Chemistry: Basic Techniques and Methods. Springer, ISBN 9783031267567. p. 346.
  10. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1948". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  11. ^ Kastenholz B. (2006). "Comparison of the electrochemical behavior of the high molecular mass cadmium proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana and in vegetable plants on using preparative native continuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PNC-PAGE)". Electroanalysis. 18 (1): 103–6. doi:10.1002/elan.200403344.
  12. ^ Garfin D.E. (1995). "Chapter 2 – Electrophoretic Methods". Introduction to Biophysical Methods for Protein and Nucleic Acid Research: 53–109. doi:10.1016/B978-012286230-4/50003-1.