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Electrophoresis

Electrophoresis is the process by which charged particles suspended in a solution may be separated through the application of an electric current. Electrophoresis was developed by Arne Tiselius. The process is used in medicine and biochemistry (science concerned with the organic and physical chemistry) to separate, identify, and measure the amount of various proteins. Electrophoresis is an analytical method frequently used in molecular biology (study of life processes) and medicine. It is applied for the separation and characterization of proteins, nucleic acids, and sub cellular-sized particles like viruses (parasite with a noncellular structure composed of mainly nucleic acid within a protein coat) and small organelles. Nucleic acid is an organic substance that plays a role in the storage and replication of hereditary information. Electrophoresis’ principle is that the charged particles of a sample migrate in an applied electrical field. In conducted in solution (homogeneous mixture of two or more substances), samples are separated according to their surface net charge density (ratio of mass of a substance to its volume). The most frequent applications, however, use gels (polyacryamide, agarose) as a support medium. Pr


oteins electrophoresis is often performed in the presence of a charged detergent like sodium dodecyl sulfate, which usually equalizes the surface charge and, therefore, allows for the determination of protein sizes on a single gel.

Gel electrophoresis is one of the staple tools in molecular biology and is of critical value in many aspects of genetic manipulation and study. One use is the identification of particular DNA molecules by the band patterns they yield in gel electrophoresis after being cut with various restriction enzymes. Viral DNA, plasmid DNA, and particular segments of chromosomal DNA can all be identified in this way. Another use is the isolation and purification of individual fragments containing interesting genes, which can be recovered from the gel with full biological activity.

Protein electrophoresis is used to evaluate, diagnose and monitor a variety of diseases and conditions. It can be used for these purposes because the levels of different blood proteins rise and fall in response to such disorders as cancer, intestinal or kidney protein-wasting syndromes, disorders of the immune system liver dysfunction impaired nutrition, and chronic fluid-retaining conditions.

Agarose gels are used to separate DNA fragments. The greater the percentage of the gel, the less mobility will be shown by the molecules. This means that the greater the percent of gel, the smaller the fragments that can be resolved. DNA is strands of sugar, phosphate, and nitrogen bases that carry information for heredity. Small pieces of DNA diffuse so much in gels that it is difficult to separate very small fragments, as they tend to show up as a blob rather than a band. When separating DNA in agarose, the positive electrode should be at the bottom and the negative electrode at the top, since this will case the DNA to migrate towards the positive pole and through the gel. The fragments are visualized with ethidium bromide as the staining agent, which fluoresces brightly when stimulated with short-wave UV.

Amino acids differ not only in R-group (classification) characteristics but also in molecular weight. An amino acid is an organic compound that is the building blocks of proteins. Different amino acids are linked together in a linear chain by peptide bonds in various combinations and sequences to form s

Some topics in this essay:
Polyacrylamide Electrophoresis, Arne Tiselius, Viral DNA, United Sates, UV Gel, , gel electrophoresis, amino acid, electric current, amino acids, protein electrophoresis, electrical field, types proteins called, acid organic, net charge, electrophoresis protein electrophoresis, gel fragments, separate identify,

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Approximate Word count = 1589
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)


  

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