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Size-exclusion chromatography, also known as molecular sieve chromatography, [1] is a chromatographic method in which molecules in solution are separated by their shape, and in some cases size. [2] It is usually applied to large molecules or macromolecular complexes such as proteins and industrial polymers. [3]
Electrophoresis is a process that enables the sorting of molecules based on charge, size, or shape. Using an electric field, molecules such as DNA can be made to move through a gel made of agarose or polyacrylamide. The electric field consists of a negative charge at one end which pushes the molecules through the gel and a positive charge at ...
The molecules separate as they travel through the gel based on the each molecule's size and shape. Longer molecules move more slowly because the gel resists their movement more forcefully than it resists shorter molecules. After some time, the electricity is turned off and the positions of the different molecules are analyzed.
Polyacrylamide gel with small pores helps to examine smaller molecules better since the small molecules can enter the pores and travel through the gel while large molecules get trapped at the pore openings. As with all forms of gel electrophoresis, molecules may be run in their native state, preserving the molecules' higher-order structure.
Dialysis is the process used to change the matrix of molecules in a sample by differentiating molecules by the classification of size. [6] [7] It relies on diffusion, which is the random, thermal movement of molecules in solution (Brownian motion) that leads to the net movement of molecules from an area of higher concentration to a lower concentration until equilibrium is reached.
Agarose gel has large pore size and good gel strength, making it suitable as an anticonvection medium for the electrophoresis of DNA and large protein molecules. The pore size of a 1% gel has been estimated from 100 nm to 200–500 nm, [ 4 ] [ 5 ] and its gel strength allows gels as dilute as 0.15% to form a slab for gel electrophoresis. [ 6 ]
An agarose gel in a tray used for gel electrophoresis. Agarose is a heteropolysaccharide, generally extracted from certain red algae. [1] It is a linear polymer made up of the repeating unit of agarobiose, which is a disaccharide made up of D-galactose and 3,6-anhydro-L-galactopyranose.
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 with a positive or negative net charge. [1] Electrophoresis is used in laboratories to separate macromolecules based on their charges.