Electrophoresis

The term electrophoresis refers to the motion of suspended particles in an applied electric field. Among separation techniques, electrophoresis is widely used in research and development and quality control in disciplines such as biochemistry, immunology, genetics, and molecular biology (Westermeier 2001). Electrophoresis is based on the differential migration of charged species in a semiconductive medium under the influence of an electric field. Separation of many different kinds of species including proteins, DNA, nucleotides, drugs, and many other biochemicals is obtained upon differences in size, charge, and hydrophobicity. The technique was first reported in 1937 by Arne Tiselius who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1948 for the separation of different serum proteins by a method called “moving-boundary electrophoresis.” Since then, a number of improved techniques have been introduced such as gel electrophoresis, capillary electrophoresis, and two-dimensional electrophoresis.

Gel...