Biology 2601L: Gel Electrophoresis

Gel electrophoresis

a method that separates macromolecules, such as nucleic acids and proteins, in which molecules are forced across a span of gel, motivated by an electrical current

Gel

a colloid in a solid form

colloid

a substance that consists of particles dispersed throughout another substance which are too small for resolution with an ordinary light microscope but are incapable of passing through a semipermeable membrane

agarose

a natural colloid extracted from seaweed

agarose gel

very fragile and is easily destroyed by handlng; has a very large pore size and is primarily used to separate very large molecules; can be processed quickly, however, resolution suffers

electrophoresis

a term that describes the migration of charged particles under the influence of an electric field

electro-

energy of electricity

phoresis-

greek verb meaning to “carry across”

Charge of DNA

negative

important biological molecules that can be run across the gel

amino acids, peptides, proteins, nucleotides, and nucleic acids

separation of large molecules depends on which two forces?

charge and mass